Between 2012 and 2021, 27 people were killed in Donegal due to work-related incidents.
Their lives are being remembered this Thursday, April 28th, at a commemorative event for International Worker’s Memorial Day.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Health and Safety Authority, with support from Ibec and the Construction Industry Federation, have joined together to mark Workers’ Memorial Day with a national commemorative event in Dublin.
Workers’ Memorial Day is an international day of remembrance for those who have been killed or seriously injured in work-related incidents. In Ireland, 481 people were killed in work-related incidents over a ten-year period from 2012-2021, 27 of those were in Donegal. So far this year in Ireland, 7 people have been killed in work-related incidents.
The commemorative event will include a ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin at 9am. Those in attendance will include Damien English TD, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Kevin Callinan, President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Dr. Sharon McGuinness, CEO of the Health and Safety Authority, and senior figures from Ibec, the Construction Industry Federation and trade unions.
Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD said: “While it is positive to see a substantial decline in work-related fatalities in 2021, seven workers have lost their live so far in 2022. There can be no complacency about the need to prevent work-related deaths. While it is vital to have strong health and safety regulations in tandem with robust enforcement, the totality of the response must also include full commitment, co-operation and communication at workplace level between employers and workers.
One of the successes of the workplace response to the pandemic was the development of the COVID Lead Worker Representative role. I encourage all employers, business managers, and workers too, to build on that success and to pro-actively encourage and facilitate the Safety Representative role in their own workplace to embed safety in all work practices and to truly make it everyone’s business,” he added.
