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International Workers Memorial Day is celebrated on April 28 of every year. It is an international day of remembrance and action for the workers who were killed, disabled, injured, or made unwell by their work. The day is otherwise called International Commemoration Day (ICD) for Dead and Injured or Day of Mourning. It is a perfect day to highlight the preventable nature of most workplace incidents and ill health and to promote the campaigns and union organizations in the fight for improvements in workplace safety. The major slogan for the day is “Remember the Dead – Fight for the living”.
History of International Workers Memorial Day
In 1970, the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) declared April 28 as “International Workers Memorial Day” to honor the hundreds of thousands of working people who were killed and injured on the job every year. According to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act by the United States Congress in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created in 1971. In 1984, the CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) did the same in Canada. The Canadian Labour Congress also declared an annual day of remembrance in 1985 on April 28, which is the anniversary of the comprehensive Workers Compensation Act, passed in 1914. In 1991, the Canadian Parliament passed an Act respecting a National Day of Mourning for persons who were killed or injured in the workplace, making April 28 an official International Workers Memorial Day.
Other Celebrations on April 28
April 28 is also celebrated as
- National Blueberry Pie Day
- Cubicle Day
- National Biological Clock Day
- National Hairball Awareness Day
How to celebrate the day
Celebrate the day by promoting safety and honoring those who have given their lives to their job. The day can be used as the focal point for remembrance and a day of international solidarity, campaigning, and other related activities which continue throughout the year right around the world. You can use the hashtag #WorkersMemorialDay on social media to promote awareness among the people about the safety of workers.
Thank you for reading the post. Celebrate every day with Happydays365.org. Happy International Workers Memorial Day 2023.
