About two dozen activists, from several unions, took part in the annual International Workers Memorial Day event organised by Waltham Forest Trades Council at Walthamstow Town Hall.
Among the speakers, both George Thomson from PCS and Susan Wills from UCU spoke of the mental health effects of stress and bullying at work. Glenroy Watson from the RMT spoke about the particular hazards of working in a safety-critical occupation. WFTC’s Mick Holder presented figures from the ILO showing that globally more than 8000 workers die every day as a result ofwork-related accident or disease, and more than 1 million are injured every day in a workplace accident. He also noted that the mass repeal of EU legislation proposed by the government threatened to remove most of the legal requirements on employers to provide a safe and healthy work environment This was expanded on by John Cryer, MP for Leyton and Wanstead, who pointed out that although the repeal of EU legislation did not directly affect what he described as the “gold standard” Health and Safety at Work Act, this too was in Tory sights and they were preparing to repeal it and return workplaces to Victorian conditions.
Each speech was greeted with a resounding chant of “Remember the dead, and fight like hell for the living!” Following a one-minutes silence in honour of Waltham Forest victims of workplace death, two memorial wreaths were placed at the foot of the borough’s flagpole.
Thank you to Mick Holder for use of the images.
Art Book Review Books Capitalism China Climate Emergency Conservative Government Conservative Party COVID-19 Economics EcoSocialism Elections Fascism Film Film Review France Gaza Imperialism Israel Italy Keir Starmer Labour Party Long Read Marxism Marxist Theory Palestine pandemic Protest Russia Solidarity Statement Trade Unionism Ukraine United States of America War
Latest articles
- Trans Strike Back!
Trans*Mission reports on a demo held at Parliament Square against withdrawing puberty blockers from trans* youth and the anti-trans Cass Review. - The orchestrated persecution of Nadera Shalhoub‑Kevorkian
Shahrazad Odeh reports on a vicious campaign by Israeli academia, police, and media to silence the professor shows Palestinians they have no safe place in Zionist institutions. - No Path to Peace in Ukraine Through This Fantasy World
Simon Pirani critiques the views of “campist” writers who call for peace talks in Ukraine while ignoring Russia’s role in the conflict and focusing solely on the actions of Western powers. - 1 May in Manchester: Action for Gaza!
Ian Parker reports from the encampment at the University of Manchester. - Palestine’s fate in light of the onslaught on Gaza
The best “solution” that could result from the Zionist ongoing genocidal war is worse than what existed before it, and certainly worse than what appeared on the horizon following the Oslo deal. By Gilbert Achcar