Winnipeg memorial to workers who died on job unveiled

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This article was published 28/04/2022 (1253 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A gathering at Memorial Park unveiled a monument remembering Manitobans who have died as a result of workplace injuries and illnesses.

On Thursday, around 150 people marked the National Day of Mourning with a march from Union Centre to the downtown Winnipeg green space, where they then gathered around the new monument: a three-tiered sculpture recognizing firefighters, peace officers and others workers who have died on the job.

There were 26 Manitobans who died in 2021 due to a workplace-related illness or injury: 13 from occupational disease and 13 to workplace-related injury. Among those were firefighters who died in the line of duty, workers who contracted COVID-19 on the job, and people suffering from cancer caused by hazardous work environments.

The monument is 15 years in the making, said Kevin Rebeck, chairman of the Workers Memorial Foundation and president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour.

However, the fight for worker’s rights has only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebeck said, noting more than half of all Manitoban workers have no paid sick days at all.

“We’ve had to fight for proper personal protective equipment, for sufficient staffing levels to provide quality services, and paid time away from work,” he said.

“As recently as this spring, unions had to fight for health-care workers who contracted COVID-19 had enough time away from work to get healthy before returning to work, so they wouldn’t risk exposing others, and they had to fight for proper PPE for front-line workers.”

Radisson MLA James Teitsma paid tribute to former colleague Danielle Adams. The Thompson MLA died in a car crash in December, and was included in the list displayed at the monument of workers lost in 2021.

“Despite progress made by Safe Work Manitoba, by Workplace Safety and Health, industry-based associations and many other organizations and individuals, the number of workers that are hurt as a result of the work that they do, remains far too high,” Teitsma said at the gathering.

One in six of the deaths in 2021 were related to exposure to asbestos. Rebeck said the Manitoba Federation of Labour would continue to advocate for the formation of a regulated certified training program on how to safely handle the dangerous substance.

“It’s unions that continue to demand better understanding and prevention of workplace psychological injury and illnesses. It’s unions that are demanding that employers take action to stop workplace violence. And it’s unions that are continuing to press for stronger protections from the use of toxic and harmful chemicals in workplaces to better prevent occupational disease,” he said.

The names of all 26 who died in 2021, along with two who have died thus far in 2022, were read out to the crowd.

Among them was John Lloyd Barrion, who was 19 when he was killed while working at a beer vendor in February. His mother, Maria Barrion, carried a sign with her son’s name.

“It’s good that we have something where we can remember him,” she said.

Later Thursday, the NDP introduced a bill to bring back the one-to-one ratio of apprentices to workers for those training on the job in a trade. It was first established in 2006, then reversed in 2020 by the Progressive Conservatives, who changed the requirement to a 2-1 ratio.

“Manitoba families want to know their child or loved one is safe when they begin their on-the-job training as an apprentice in the trades,” NDP Leader Wab Kinew said in a statement. “But after the PCs changed the ratio, that’s no longer the case.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca