International Workers Memorial Day 2026: UNISON Housing workers "Remember the Dead & Fight for the Living"

Today, the Greater London UNISON Housing Association branch marked International Workers Memorial Day at the “clasping hands” statue in 3 Mills Green, Stratford, for what I believe is the 17th year. This day honours workers in the UK and around the world who have lost their lives or been injured at work due to accidents or industrial diseases.  

At this very site, four workers tragically died in a wholly avoidable incident caused by carbon monoxide poisoning in an underground shaft. Three of them lost their lives while heroically trying to rescue others, succumbing to the gas themselves.  

Thanks go to local Newham MP James Asser for attending and speaking on the importance of workplace safety, and to Clarion Housing Group Health and Safety Advisors who laid a wreath. UNISON National Officer Andrew Dobbie, who researched the tragedy, gave a talk at the actual shaft where these workers died.  

GMB rep Simon Rush read a message from Newham Labour Mayoral Candidate. Forhad Hussain, an engineer working on a major construction project, reflecting on lessons still relevant today from these preventable deaths. GMB member Heather Lafferty also made a moving personal contribution.  

It was also so good to hear from Labour Movement stalwart and retired Unite, UCU member, John Saunders, who delivered a passionate speech about the countless workers who have needlessly died over the years, here and across the globe.  Many thanks as well to local Stratford Cllr Sabia Kamali for her support.

It was a proud Labour Movement Day. 

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). 

UNISON Community Annual Seminar & Conference - Day 1

 

On Friday our annual Community Seminar/Conference started in Chester. I was brought up only 8 miles away from Chester (Welsh side of the border) and have many fond memories of this lovely and historic city. Walking from the railway station to the hotel I passed Chester's "Marks and Spencers" and remember (not very foundly) spending many, many hours as a young child inside with my Mum and sister, shopping for clothes. The following week my Mum would often go back and return the clothes and then start shopping again!

After a 9am Service Group Executive Meeting (I am one of the 2 UNISON Community NEC members), I then attended a meeting of UNISON delegates who also work for Housing Associations. There was a number of useful discussions on common issues and it is pretty clear that on pay, our employers have been talking together and very many (not all) are offering 5% pay increase for this year. I made a comment that if employers are working together on pay then so should we. Another argument for sectorial wide fair pay agreements if there is a change of government. 

At the same time there was delegation meetings for the wider Community & Voluntary sector and Major Charities. 

Next there was a session for new delegates, where a brave attempt was made to explain how unison conferences work and how new delegates can participate. National Officer, Gavin Edwards and SGE member, Hassan Ortega did their their very best to demystify "points of order" and "card votes". 

During lunch there was meetings of self organised groups (young members, disabled members, Black members and LGBT+). I went for a 50 minute brisk walk around Chester City Walls. 

In the afternoon, there was the Plenary seminar session, starting with a welcome by our Chair, Malcolm Gray (a long lost cousin) and Jon Richards - UNISON Assistant General Secretary. 

We then had Rebecca Young from NCVO presenting on their campaign to better fund public sector contracts in the Charity sector. UNISON policy officer Anna Birley on our Cost of Living Campaign. Finally, Gavin again on the UNISON National Care service campaigns. 

At 4.30pm delegates had a choice of 4 workshops - "Pensions made simple and how to organise to improve them", "Year of the LGBT+ Worker", "Hands off - Tie to Tackle violence at work" and "Digital Organising". I helped out with national officer Andrew Dobbie on the pensions workshop. Which gave me some ideas on what to say during the pension motion on the Saturday. 

Finally, there was regional briefings for delegates, followed by a reception in the hotel. Our keynote speaker for tomorrow's conference, Labour Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, was there and it was a pleasure to have a chat with her and her two youngest boys, who I had seen many times at previous UNISON conferences, growing up over the years. 

Afterwards, Many of the London delegates then retired to a local hostelry for food, drinks, putting the world right and lots of gossip. 

International Workers Memorial Day 2023: UNISON & Safety Advisors Honour the Dead & Work together for the Living

 

Today we held a simple but powerful remembrance ceremony to mark International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD 28 April). IWMD is supported by trade unions and responsible employers across the world to remember those who have died of accidents at work and from work related ill health. It is also a campaigning day to make all workplaces safer. 

This was organised by the London UNISON Housing Association branch members but supported also by a local GMB branch and professional safety advisers from Clarion & L&Q Housing associations.  These are the two largest "shops" in our branch. Wreaths from UNISON, Clarion and L&Q were laid. 

We met at the beautiful "Clasping Hands" statue in the historic Three Mills Green park in Stratford, East London. UNISON National Officer, Andrew Dobbie explained that at this very site in 1901 three workers sacrificed their lives, one after the other, in a ventilation shaft, trying to rescue another worker who had collapsed at the bottom of the shaft from fatal gases. Even the basic health & safety measures of the time had not been followed. I mentioned that this was not just an historic issue, in nearby Watney Market, Stepney in 1990 three workers were killed in a sewer in similar circumstances.

Other speakers spoke that even now, 2 workers per week, on average do not return home from work and the risk to UK health and safety if the Government goes ahead with plans to rescind european safety legislation. Another speaker spoke about the very recent 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse which killed (manslaughter?) over 1100 worker in Bangladesh. 

Many thanks to the UNISON & GMB members (including a former London Assembly member and a former Council leader), national and regional officers, Councillors and the professional safety advisors for attending. I had apologies from many others and look forward to making this event even better next year. 

Workers Memorial Day: Friday 28 April 2023

 

This year UNISON Housing Association Branch will be remembering those who have died at work due to accidents at work or from work related ill health & diseases. It is also a campaigning day to fight for the living at work and their health and safety.

We will holding a wreath laying event at the "Clasping Hands" statute in Three Mills Green, Stratford, London E3 3DU at 1pm on Friday 28 April 2023. We have held this event now for many years but hope to get a good turn out post Covid. 

This beautiful statue is near the site of a ventilation shaft where 4 workers died in 1900. 3 of them perished while heroically trying to rescue a fellow worker.

The local MP, Lyn Brown has been invited and all trade unionists will be welcome as well as Safety advisors and anyone else, genuinely interested in health and safety at work. 

Please bring your trade union and Labour movement banners.

UNISON members from the nearby L&Q Housing headquarters will be walking to the site beforehand. The wreath laying and talk about what happened here and why it is important should last no more than 30 minutes or so.

If you are unable to attend this event then check out the TUC website for events local to you or arrange with your employer to carry out a general walkabout safety inspection of your workplace looking for obvious hazards. It is also Stress Awareness month so check on stress risk assessment arrangements and occupational health support for workers.

Picture from 2022 with UNISON National officer Andrew Dobbie giving a wonderful historical tlak on what happened in 1901. 

Workers Memorial Day 2022: UNISON Community Activists Remember the Dead and Fight for the Living

 

This morning at 11am in Three Mills Green, Stratford, London, E3 at the "Clasping Hands" statue, we remembered those who had died at work due to accidents and work related ill heath. More deaths each year than resulting from war. 

The UNISON national officer for Community (Housing associations and voluntary sector), Andrew Dobbie, gave us a passionate and eloquent historical explanation of what actually near this spot in 1901. When 3 workers sacrificed their lives in a doomed attempt to rescue a colleague from the bottom of a underground shaft filled with poisonous fumes. 

It was great to have a Clarion Health & Safety officer present as well as L&Q representative, UNISON member Cllr John Whitworth and Unite rep John Saunders. 

Clarion UNISON AGM 2021

 

Yesterday evening was the AGM of UNISON members who work for Clarion Housing Association. It was a "hybrid" meeting held physically in Clarion headquarters in London Bridge and virtually on MS teams.  We have members in 22 UNISON branches in all 9 English regions. 

I  was pleased to have been re-elected as the UNISON National Convenor (unopposed). 

Many thanks for our UNISON National Officer for Housing Associations and the Voluntary Sector, Andrew Dobbie for giving us an update and to all reps and members who attended and participated in this meeting (including London Regional officer, Ezequiel Kramer). 

International Workers' Memorial Day in West Ham (& also remembering Uncle Harry)

Today is International Workers Memorial Day and this afternoon we remembered all those who have been killed at work or died of work related diseases at the beautiful "Clasping Hands" sculpture and memorial in Three Mills Green, Newham, East London.

The memorial remembers "Godfrey Maule Nicholson, Manager Of A Stratford Distillery, George Elliott And Robert Underhill, Workmen, Successively Went Down A Well To Rescue Comrades And Were Poisoned By Gas. July 12 1901". How sad and how fitting to remember this on this particular day.

Our Local Member of Parliament, Lyn Brown, a long standing UNISON member, laid a wreath on behalf of my trade union branch, Greater London UNISON Housing Associations, who have organised memorial events here for many years.

Due to Covid we were restricted this year on who could attend but many thanks to Lyn, Andrew (National UNISON officer for Community), Sonya and Eunice (UNISON activists) for attending.

Hopefully next year we will be able to organise properly and have a bigger and more inclusive event.

Lyn gave a lovely little speech about about how important this occasion was to her as a the local MP to honour workers, such as Robert Underhill, who must have gone down the well on that day, knowing what had happened to those who had tried beforehand to rescue others, but he still risked his life to save others and paid the ultimate price for doing so.

Lyn also mentioned "Uncle Harry". By coincidence this morning I received an email from the niece of Henry (Harry) Turner. She had seen notice of this event on the TUC website. Some 200 yards away from this sculpture, her uncle Harry, had been killed in 1965 during an explosion, in the Sun Flour Mill. He had been working at the site while employed by the London Electricity Board (so possibly a member of UNISON's predecessor trade unions?) . Four people were killed by the explosion. 

There are already the names of other workers killed nearby as well as those from 1901 on the memorial plinth. So maybe we should consider whether other names such as Uncle Harry should be added.