ADVISORY/OFL to join April 28 Unveiling of Brampton Injured Worker Monument: Day of Mourning Calls for Jail Time for Negligent Bosses

BRAMPTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 26, 2013) - On Sunday, April 28, Ontario Federation of Labour Executive Vice-President Irwin Nanda and Secretary-Treasurer Nancy Hutchison will join injured workers, survivors and their advocates at a Brampton event hosted by the Brampton-Mississauga & District Labour Council to unveil a Milestones of Labour monument to promote health and safety on the job. The event will mark the Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job, the labour movement's most solemn occasion.

As a speaker at the unveiling, Nanda will be available for comment to the media on the OFL's call for a commitment from every police chief and crown attorney in the province to properly train officers and prosecutors to investigate workplace accidents as crime scenes and to pursue employer violations of safety protocols to the full extent of the law.

This year marks the 10^th anniversary of the passing of Bill C-45, an historic law known as the Westray Bill, which amended the Criminal Code of Canada to hold employers criminally liable when their negligence causes the death or serious injury of a worker. While as many as 400 workers continue to die on the job every year in Ontario and more than 200,000 are injured, not one Ontario employer representative has ever faced a personal criminal conviction.

"This monument is a powerful reminder of the risks many workers face every time they go to work," said Nanda. "The community must come together to promote safer workplaces but we also need a criminal justice system that puts negligent bosses behind bars. Without justice, no fallen worker can rest in peace."

Since 1985, April 28 has been recognized across Canada as the International Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job. On this day, worker advocates call for justice and fair compensation for injured workers, victims and survivors.

For the full OFL statement on the Day of Mourning, annual statistics on workplace death and injuries and link to this year's event listings, visit: http://ofl.ca/index.php/april-28-2013/.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow the OFL on Facebook and Twitter: @OFLabour.