Workers and their representatives are demanding a place at the table to drive the kind of change necessary to take on health and safety hazards AND the global climate crisis.

Workers’ rights have always been central to the fight for safe, healthy work. Those rights, especially the right to participate must be recognized in addressing climate-related hazards and their solutions too. On April 28 these will be among the demands workers, their families, labour councils, unions and community partners will prioritize when they gather at Day of Mourning events across Ontario.

Excessive heat, ultraviolet radiation, extreme weather events, workplace air pollution and vector-borne diseases are just some of the immediate climate-related hazards against which workers need greater protection. But our focus mustn’t stop here. We need to get to the source of what is driving the climate crisis, namely our toxic carbon-based economy. And when we do, we get to the source of much that is driving occupational disease in the province, the single largest source of worker death in Ontario. 

These are the concerns Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) is focusing on with our 2024 Day of Mourning theme: CHANGE MAKERS: Mourn for the Dead. FIGHT FOR THE LIVING.  The International Labour Organization has chosen a similar focus and has released a special report entitled Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate. 

Attend a Day of Mourning event in your community. https://www.whsc.on.ca/Events/Day-of-Mourning
Note: Some events are being held on April 26.

Protecting people and the planet

Workers, their representatives, and their environmental allies are the agents of change our workplaces and communities so desperately need. For WHSC executive director, Andrew Mudge, “This is no time for half measures. As we shift to a greener, cleaner economy workers must be front and centre to ensure the transition is just and fully protects workers. From experience, workers know that fighting for change at source, or upstream, can prevent harm before it occurs, protecting both people and the planet.”

Declared by the Canadian Labour Congress in 1986, today more than 100 countries now observe the Day of Mourning.

Visit our dedicated Day of Mourning web page. We have updated our list of Day of Mourning events across Ontario. Attend an event in your community. On this page as well, you will find updated statistics on the toll hazardous work takes and a link to worker memorials that have been erected across this province.

April training offer

As Ontario’s only government-designated, labour-endorsed health and safety training centre we support the goal of safer, healthier workplaces and environments. But we know for workers and their representatives to succeed they need comprehensive and transformative instructor-led learning in real-time, in-person or virtual classrooms. So called online e-learning is not learning at all.

In recognition of Day of Mourning, Workers Health & Safety Centre is offering a special 20 per cent discount for most scheduled training. Purchase training during the month of April, including for dates beyond April, to receive a 20 per cent discount. Discounts apply to both in-person and virtual classroom options.

Don’t miss this offer! Register for training. https://www.whsc.on.ca/Training/Training-Catalogue

Other Resources:
International Labour Organization: Climate change and safety and health at work

Need more information?
Contact a WHSC training services representative in your area.
Email: contactus@whsc.on.ca
Visit: whsc.on.ca
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