International Workers’ Memorial Day was held at Emma Miller Place in Brisbane today, with ETU Deputy State Secretary Peter Ong delivering the closing address.
Mr Ong spoke at length about a triple fatality he witnessed on a work site as a 15-year-old worker, caused by employers’ lack of concern for safety warnings. Families of workers who lost their lives at work, or due to workplace neglect, were in attendance at the event, laying flowers in remembrance.
Black hard hats were also laid on white crosses to represent the Queenslanders who have died at work over the past 12 months.
Throughout the day, speakers from throughout the Union movement called for workplace death manslaughter laws to be introduced in Queensland to improve safety for workers and accountability for employers.
“If you take a worker’s life due to neglect then you deserve to go to jail,” Mr Ong told the crowd.