Worker's Memorial Day 2024: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends".

 

Today we remembered workers who died in the course of their duties and also those who died trying valiantly to save them. Workers Memorial Day is on Sunday (28 April) this year but we decided to hold our annual event today. 

The venue was beside the "Clasping Hands" statue in Three Mills Park in Stratford, East London. Over a 100 years ago, 4 workers died at this site in a notorious health and safety incident. 3 of them died trying to pull out of danger, a worker who had collapsed due to poisonous fumes at a bottom of a ventilation shaft next to a local Gin factory. 

Even by the standards of the time, basic health and safety rules had been ignored, which resulted in these deaths. 

We had speeches and wreaths laid by representatives of UNISON, Clarion Housing Group and L&Q Group. Many thanks to the professional safety advisors from Clarion and L&Q for attending. 

As well as trade union and Labour movement activists from UNISON and GMB, there was also local Labour Councillors, including Cllr James Beckles, who is standing in the Greater London Assembly Elections and  Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, the Deputy Mayor of Hackney Council (both UNISON members).