AMWU members across Australia joined bereaved relatives and work safety campaigners in marking International Workers’ Memorial Day on Thursday.

Workers killed in industrial accidents in the past twelve months were specifically mentioned at the Victorian Trades Hall in Melbourne.

Wayne Mann, an AMWU health and safety representative, said the loss of 13 lives in Victorian workplaces so far in 2011 highlighted the ongoing struggle to eradicate industrial deaths.

“We’ve gone backwards in some ways. To think we’ve already lost so many lives this year…it shouldn’t be happening. Seeing relatives there today really brought it home.”

Mr Mann, a representative at Ford Broadmeadows for a decade, said a poor attitude to workplace safety still prevailed despite improvements in recent time.

“There is a lot of complacency from the workers and above. People think they’ve done a job a 100 hundreds, and an accident won’t happen to them.

“Unfortunately many workers don’t raise safety concerns because they are afraid. They think they’ll be targeted for redundancy later on. So whilst things have got better in some ways, we’re still battling in other areas.“

According to AMWU National President Paul Bastian the day highlighted why the new national workplace health and safety law (WHS) needed to be strengthened not weakened, ahead of an implementation next year. 

“Today demonstrates why we have to keep up the fight to ensure the new regulations do not undermine the standards we’ve built up over so many years,” he said.

“We’ve recently had the passing of long time official Ian Harrington. He died of mesothelioma. His loss reminds us we need to do everything we can to make workplaces safe. To ensure workers are not exposed to known toxins and carcinogens.“

His comments were echoed by ACTU President, Ged Kearney.

“I challenge those business groups (who wish to water down the new laws) to go to one of the memorial events across the country today and tell a grieving widow that the paperwork that would have kept their loved one alive is too onerous.”

International Workers Memorial Day was marked by the US President, Barack Obama who dedicated the day to those who had lost their lives at work. He also recognised those who have courageously fought for decent working conditions, sometimes risking their own economic security and lives. To read more on the President's proclamation, or to find out more about Occupational Health and Safety, click here.