Thursday 12th December marks the UK National Workplace Day of Remembrance.
The annual awareness day was first established in 2019 to remember all those who have lost their lives at work, across all industries and job roles.
The organisers urge people to mark the National Workplace Day of Remembrance by observing a minute’s silence at midday on 12th December each year. They say that respect should be shown for “those who died while working to live.”
National Workplace Day of Remembrance marks anniversary of Oaks Disaster
The National Workplace Remembrance Day was originally instigated by supporters of the memorial campaign for the Oaks Disaster in 1866.
The worst disaster in British mining history, which remains the worst disaster in England and was the worst disaster globally for 50 years, occurred at The Oaks Colliery in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Two major gas explosions claimed the lives of up to 383 workers and rescuers. They came after a series of smaller explosions and fatalities over the years at the colliery, but these warning signs had been ignored.
Despite this, few people have heard of the disaster and there are conflicting reports about the causes and no definitive list of who and how many people died.
In 2016, a group of campaigners fought to raise a memorial to commemorate the disaster. Their efforts highlighted the massive number of unknown workers, managers, contractors who have died at work.
Researchers have since produced films and books to tell the story of the disaster and honour the sacrifice of the workers who lost their lives. A show and accompanying CD has also been created and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The supporters of the memorial campaign included the Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis MBE, MP and Paul Routledge of the Daily Mirror. They encouraged the follow-up campaign to establish the National Workplace Day of Remembrance.
UK organisations support National Workplace Day of Remembrance
The official website for the remembrance day urges people to “simply stop work and observe a minute’s silence for all those who died trying to support their families and our economy. Ask your employer to observe it workplace wide and spread the idea.”
The National Workplace Day of Remembrance is supported by Includability Committed Employers which promotes inclusive organisations and champions inclusive awareness days.
HM Coastguard uses the day to pay tribute to safety guardians on the coast and at sea. Meanwhile, health and social care organisations such as Home Instead and Together Dementia Support also support the awareness day.
Together Dementia Support say they would “particularly like to remember those carers who have died caring for someone.”
The National Workplace Day of Remembrance comes just after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released their latest workplace injury and work-related ill-health statistics which confirmed that 138 workers were killed in accidents at work last year. In addition, there are around 12,000 lung disease deaths each year linked to past exposures at work.
Training for a safe and healthy world of work
First Response Training (FRT) is one of the UK’s largest and leading national training providers.
They deliver a wide and diverse range of training for businesses and organisations across all industry sectors and throughout the UK. Their course range includes training in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, mental health, food safety, health and social care and more.
Their health and safety training is mapped to UK standards and legislation and follows HSE guidelines. The portfolio includes courses such as Health and Safety, Managing Health and Safety, Risk Assessment, Accident and Incident Investigation, Working at Height, Asbestos Awareness and many more.
A trainer from FRT says:
“We believe in creating safer working environments with people who care. This is our vision and central to our services. It means providing training that helps to protect people’s health, safety and welfare.
“Any life lost at work is obviously one too many, and non-fatal injuries can also have significant, life-altering impacts on workers. As the organisers of this awareness campaign stress, no one should risk losing their life in trying to provide for their family and contribute to the economy.
“It’s important to ensure that we regularly undergo essential training in health, safety and welfare across all organisations and industries to create strong workplace safety cultures.”
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.