The more than 200 workers who died while on the job across Australia in the past 16 months were remembered at a ceremony in Wollongong on Friday.
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Illawarra union representatives, politicians and community leaders paused beside the city’s miners’ memorial – outside the Wollongong City Council building – as part of International Workers’ Memorial Day commemorations.
In Australia, 178 workers were killed last year. Fifty-one workers have been killed at work so far this year, according to Safe Work Australia.
“It’s not yet May; that’s an average of more than three people a week,” Whitlam MP Stephen Jones said.
“We can’t change the past but today [Friday] we pay our respects to the workers who have lost their lives …and commit ourselves to ensuring that we do everything in our power to make our workplaces safe.”
Workers’ Memorial Day, also known as the International Day of Mourning, commemorates workers killed or injured at work.
The day had special significance for Wollongong MP Paul Scully.
“As someone who grew up in Mount Kembla, you had a constant reminder of the 96 men and boys who lost their lives in the Mount Kembla mine disaster,” Mr Scully said.
“As someone who is the son of a truck driver … you can never forget how much risk transport workers face every day when they go out to earn a living, to pay the mortgage, to put food on the table for their families.”