In Canada, on average, a worker dies every eight hours. Hundreds, perhaps thousands more CUPE members have gotten sick or injured because their workplaces are not safe. Other members are injured because of cutbacks, understaffing, and improper or insufficient training. Some are sick or injured because employers have not followed the occupational health and safety act in their province or jurisdiction.
Our members deserve better.
It was CUPE’s national health and safety committee that, in 1984, first proposed the idea of a day to remember workers who are injured or killed on the job. On April 28th, we pause to remember the workers who have been injured, made ill, or killed. We must hold employers accountable to make sure they abide by health and safety laws. We must hold governments accountable as well to ensure they enforce the laws they pass. We must continue our struggle to ensure that all workers come home to their family safe and healthy, because at the end of the day, that’s what matters most.
Our members deserve better.
It was CUPE’s national health and safety committee that, in 1984, first proposed the idea of a day to remember workers who are injured or killed on the job. On April 28th, we pause to remember the workers who have been injured, made ill, or killed. We must hold employers accountable to make sure they abide by health and safety laws. We must hold governments accountable as well to ensure they enforce the laws they pass. We must continue our struggle to ensure that all workers come home to their family safe and healthy, because at the end of the day, that’s what matters most.