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Day of mourning recognized in Dresden
National Day of Mourning Recognition Ceremony, Dresden Community Health Care Centre – from left to right:
Rick Arnel, Assistant Chief (Fire); Stuart Kiar and Ron Sturgis, Board Members of the Dresden Community Health Care Centre; Councillor Joe Faas; Chase Konc, Volunteer Firefighter and Equipment Operator; Mike Cowley, Equipment Operator; Jim Konc, Volunteer Firefighter and Equipment Operator; Brad Tuckwell, Station Chief and Facilities Supervisor; Mayor Randy Hope; Denise Lidster, Manager of Occupational Safety; Ralph Weierstall, President, CUPE Local 12 and Equipment Operator; Glenn Harding, Roads Supervisor; Eric Jamieson, Equipment Operator; Lucy Brown, General Manager of Health and Family Services.
Representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 12 were joined this morning by Chatham-Kent Council members and municipal staff to recognize National Day of Mourning in a ceremony in Dresden. The day commemorates Canadian workers whose lives have been lost or injured in the workplace. In a ceremony at the Dresden Community Health Care Centre, union and municipal representatives dedicated a memorial bench. Flags at municipal centres across Chatham-have been lowered for the weekend.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, there were 919 workplace deaths in 2011. That equates to 2.6 deaths every single day of the year.
“We must use the enormous sacrifices these workers made to educate ourselves in order to decrease the staggering numbers I have spoken about,” said Local 12 President Ralph Weierstall. “Only by working together with employers, employees and all levels of government can we really make some improvements necessary to our workplaces.”
“Good occupational health and safety is an essential part of being a healthy community,” said Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope. “Every injury, every death has an impact not only on the workers themselves, but on their families, co-workers and communities. Safe workplaces mean safer communities, and to be successful, a community must be safe.”
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent Occupational Safety Program is constantly updated, and is based on the philosophy that every individual in the workplace is responsible for safety. Municipal employees have officially adopted workplace safety as one of their core values.
The National Day of Mourning is recognized by the Canadian Labour Congress and the Federal Government. Canadians are encouraged to observe a moment of silence.
