The Guardian 27 April, 2005
Work deaths get permanent reflection
A Sydney harbour-side park will be dedicated as a permanent reminder of the dangers of work when Sydney workers join millions around the globe in observing the International Day of Mourning for Deaths in the Workplace.
NSW Premier Bob Carr will officially rename Little Pier Park as “Reflection Park” at a ceremony involving friends and colleagues of five workers who have died in NSW workplaces.
Around NSW every CFMEU OH&S delegate in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong will attend the service, with the construction union announcing there will be 100 stop work meetings on the commemorative day.
Victorian workplaces, who have had a horror start to 2005 with nine fatalities by the end of March alone, have adopted the canary as a symbol for this year’s International Workers Memorial Day.
Workers’ Memorial Day commenced in Canada in 1986 as a way of remembering those killed or injured as a result of their work. It was adopted internationally in 1996.