Remembering our missing colleagues

The annual Workers’ Memorial Day Remembrance Service and Wreath-Laying Ceremony takes place this year on Saturday 28 April.

It commemorates those who have been either killed or injured in workplace accidents and aims to raise awareness among employers of the importance of effective health and safety procedures.

People are asked to please note that, due to the ongoing regeneration work in Church Square around Christ Church – which is the normal venue for the event – the service and wreath-laying ceremony this year will take place in the refectory area of the new Cleveland College of Art and Design campus at 1 Church Street, Hartlepool, TS24 7DS, at the bottom of Church Street.

A lone Scottish piper will be play at the building from 11.45am and will pipe people into the refectory at 12.20pm in time to take their seats for a one-minute silence at 12.30pm.

The service will be conducted by the Rev. Janet Burbury and the Rev. Andrew Craig. The speakers will include Chris Keates, General Secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), Gloria Mills, National Secretary of UNISON, Micky Thompson, Regional Officer of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), and Louise Taggart of Families Against Corporate Killers(FACK) and workers’ safety charity Scottish Hazards.

Following the service, wreaths will be laid by people attending the event, including bereaved family members, Hartlepool MP Mike Hill and the Mayor of Hartlepool Councillor Paul Beck.

The ceremony will end at about 1.45pm. Tea and coffee will be provided before the event and there will be a light buffet afterwards.

Edwin Jeffries, President of Hartlepool Trades Union Council, said: “Whether or not they have been affected by a tragedy at work, we hope that as many people as possible from across the region will join us to pay their respects and add their weight to the ongoing campaign to make all workplaces safe for workers.

“Once again, we will be providing individual flowers so that anybody attending the service can lay a flower in memory of a loved one.

“I would like to thank Cleveland College of Art and Design for very kindly acting as the temporary venue for the service this year while regeneration work is being carried out on our usual Church Square venue.

“I would also like to thank Elle Cain, a photography graduate from the College, from whom we commissioned an excellent pictorial record of last year’s Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony, a copy of which I have presented to Hartlepool Borough Council to hold for posterity.”

For more information about the event, contact Edwin Jeffries on 07813 073186 or email ejeffries73@gmail.com