AUPE to mark Day of Mourning Friday for workers killed and injured on job
EDMONTON – Members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees will mark the International Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job this Friday with an 11 a.m. ceremony at the union’s headquarters in Edmonton.
Also on Friday, AUPE occupational health and safety leaders from across the province will take part in a daylong seminar entitled Day of Mourning: Focus to the Future.
“We have been very fortunate so far in 2006 that no members of our union have lost their lives on the job,” said AUPE Vice-President Krista Koroluk, chair of the union’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee.
“But while we are relieved that AUPE worksites have a good record of on-the-job safety this year, we recognize that we cannot allow our vigilance at our worksites or our commitment to workplace safety to falter,” said Koroluk.
“The level of occupational illness and on-the-job injuries also continue to be an ongoing concern,” added Koroluk, who will take part in Friday’s ceremony. She noted that some work-related deaths are not recorded as such — for example, when workers harm themselves or take their own lives as a result of conditions in the workplace.
“The record over the past several years shows that more dangerous situations are occurring in Alberta workplaces, and that a higher rate of incidents takes place in workplaces where there are no unions,” said AUPE President Dan MacLennan.
MacLennan argued that employers who are found to be in contravention of health and safety regulations should face more severe penalties, including the possibility of jail time. “That’s the only way things are going to change,” he said.
In 2005, 103 workers in Alberta died from injury or work-related disease. In addition, more than 168,000 Albertans filed claims with the Alberta Workers Compensation Board. Of those, more than 36,000 workers required time away from their jobs due to the seriousness of their injuries.
A total of 57 AUPE members have lost their lives at work since 1977.
The United Nations recognized the International Day of Mourning in 1996, partly as a result of efforts by AUPE and other Alberta labour organizations to have Canada’s Day of Mourning recognized worldwide.
Media are welcome to attend Friday’s ceremony.
For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-232-8392 (cellular phone)
Krista Koroluk, Vice-President, AUPE, 780-930-3382 or 780-915-2880 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)