Protest to commemorate 23 workers killed in work related accidents
dublin |
worker & community struggles and protests |
feature 
Friday April 28, 2006 18:41
by Jim
A large protest took place outside the offices of the Health and Safety Authority to mark international workers commemoration day. The protest was supported by BATU and SIPTU as well as local T.D. Ruairi Quinn and Sean Ryan T.D. of Labour. There was a considerable amount of corporate press photographers and tv cameras as well.
The family of Justin Foley were also present and they laid flowers for Justin at the doorstep of the HSA in Hogan place. There was a minutes silence at 12. Building workers held 23 crosses one - each to represent each worker killed in work related accidents during 2005.
On the 3rd of December 2002 Justin Foley, 21, was killed in an accident at work. This happened in Robinson's warehouse in the Ballymun Industrial Estate.
Justin worked for Davies Turner Transport. The loading bay on which he was standing was faulty - he had to stand on the driver's blind side while waving the articulated truck in. The truck reversed into him and he was caught between the truck and the wall. He was crushed to death and died instantly of severe traumatic brain stem injury.
The HSA were not present at the scene of the accident the day of the accident nor were they notified until the next day after - the scene was not preserved. Yet there was no prosecution for failure to notify.
The HSA did not take any action against the companies involved, which has forced the Foley family to take a civil case.
A hard days work never killed anyone? Justin Foley
23 crosses to commemorate each worker who was killed
Comments (11 of 11)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Brief report of protest at HSA this morning
In beautiful weather about 70 people took part in a protest outside the Health and Safety Authority Offices on Hogan Place. Jointly organised by SIPTU Construction Branch and BATU, the protest marked Worker's Memorial Day, dedicated to those who lose their lives or are injured on the job. It was also to highlight the specific case of Justin Foley, killed while working in Ballymun Industrial Estate in 2002. (http://www.justinfoley.ie/)
Last year 70 people died on the job, 23 of them in the construction industry and a cross for each worker was carried in a constantly moving picketline by members of the Foley family and trade union activists. Candles in memory of Justin were also lit and carried.
Banners from BATU and SIPTU were present, along with Sinn Féin and Labour. Labour TDs Seán Ryan and Ruairí Quinn were present, as were Cllrs Killian Forde and Daithí Doolan of Sinn Féin who joined the picket line along with a number of Sinn Féin activists. Picketers called for Safe Sites Now.
There was a pretty good media presence with TV, print and radio well represented. Workers Memorial Day has traditionally been rarely observed in any organised fashion in Ireland compared with elsewhere and hopefully this morning's event will bee the beginning of regularly marking a day that remembers the 5,000 workers who lose their lives on the job every year worldwide as well as those injured or hurt.
Here is a link to the RTE report:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0428/foleyj.html
Family marks workers' memorial day
28 April 2006 16:39
I will upload more tomorrow.
There was no presence from the Socialist Party at all?
The Labour Party have been in Government with the corporations. Quinn was the minister for Finance that introduced the massive tax consessions and amnesties for big business. This person should be ashamed to be on a workers' protest. The Labour Party are doing all they can at the moment to get Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny elected as Taoiseach. Kenny a Workers' Taoiseach?! Eric Fleming the SIPTU bureaucrat pictured knew all about GAMA and he didn't do a thing. Even when the strike was on he refused to give strike pay to the Turkish workers that had their E2.20 an hour and food supplies cut. Then there is the BATU leaders that opposed the GAMA strike and did their best to avoid action in the recent Collen dispute. 23 workers dead is too much. But there is no solution that can come from the F**king animals in the Labour Party or the SIPTU & BATU leaders. We need to build real working class organisaitons and unions that will fight against corporate killers. Labour have given tax breaks to corporate killers and SIPTU/BATU have been soft on them too.
Your anti Labour rants are as constant as the northern star, if you focused as much energy into taking on FF/PD/FG as you did bashing labour ireland would be a much better place
In GB the 1974 Health and Safety at work act came into force this made employees responsible for their safety and others around them. Some employers still continued to put workers at risk especially underground in heavy civils. When they complained they were secretely blacklisted by the same employers through an organisation called the Economic League,and couldnt when they changed jobs find further employment. It was only when the slaughter got out of control and the Insurance Companies refused to underwrite the policies did change come.At Abbestead 14 dead and 2 childern, Littlebrook Power station kent shift of Irish Tunnellers fell 150 feet in defective lift ,most died .Contractor moved some of its operations elsewere,guess.
Your pro Labour rants are as constant as the northern star, if you focused as much energy into taking on FF/PD/FG as you did supporting rabbitte and promoting your candidature in 2009 ireland would be a much better place
Please read my son's story of workplace bullying and how his workmate committed suicide because of it. I think it speaks for itself.
Best wishes.
http://sydney.indymedia.org/node/37136
In Canada we have protection from our Union and from the federal and provincial laws pertaining to workers. Here in Canada situations like this are prosecuted and companies are fined and their names published. Had this happened here in Canada there would have been an investigation into the death the same day and the job shut down. Criminal charges can be laid in cases where negligence can be proven. God Bless you in your fight for justice and protection for your workers, and I hope they listen to you and change the laws to better protect workers. I am an Irish citizen born in Canada. Donna
To Kit - while one is sympathetic about what happened to your son nobody can say for sure that it was this and only this that caused his suicide and suicide is very difficult thing to predict in a given individual. People have very different levels of coping skills for what life throws at them. In any case there is one side of the story only presented here.
As regards workplace deaths in Ireland most of them are accounted for by accidents on family farms – eg children are run over by their father’s tractor or a farmer falls into his slurry pit or getting caught in his bailer. It would be impossible to prevent this type of accident by the State if basic precautions are not taken by the people themselves. The balance is made up of accidents occurring in very small building contractors with bad practices say in trench digging in the informal sector. Considering the very large increase in the number of workers since 1997, especially in building, the Irish safety record is improving markedly, especially if on excludes farming.
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