ICFTU OnLine…
098/980427/DD

Brussels, April 27, 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): Candles and incense will be lit in offices, workplaces and in union headquarters round the world, as trade unions mourn the hundreds of thousands of workers who die every year from work accidents or work-related illnesses.

According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), more than 200.000 workers die every year in work accidents alone.

This will be the 3rd International Day of Mourning, called by the 125 million strong ICFTU.

This year, the Day of Mourning forms part of the ICFTU's international campaign against child labour, and will help to gather momentum for the upcoming debates in June this year at the International Labour Organisation on a new Convention dealing with child labour, particularly those working in hazardous industries. Over 250 million children are at work every day, making up more than five percent of the world's workforce. Of these 20,000 will die from work-related accidents or diseases this year alone, stresses the ICFTU, noting that these figures are almost certainly an underestimation of the problem.

On April 28 every year, since 1996, the ICFTU invites its affiliates to organise activities to mark the International Day of Mourning. The ICFTU’s principal international ceremony will take place in Edmonton (Canada) under the aegis of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). A special ceremony will also take place on April 28 at the ICFTU's Brussels headquarters.