Williams Lake workers, union leaders, city staff and council members gathered for a National Day of Mourning ceremony Friday, April 28.
Each year the day is held to honour people who have lost their lives on the job or due to occupational disease.
Jessica Garreau, an officer with the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1-2017 based in Williams Lake, organized the event and said everyone gathered for the ceremony is personally connected to someone who lost their life because of work,
“We are here to honour them and to fight for the safety of others. I hope one day in Canada we can say no one dies because of their work,” Garreau said.
Latisha Kirechuk has worked at West Fraser Plywood for almost 26 years and said the Day of Mourning is very significant for her.
She lost a family member and about 19 years ago lost a coworker to workplace accidents and does not want anyone else to have to go through that, she said.
“We at the Steelworkers in Northern B.C. lost one member in the last year due to a severe asthma attack. It was not necessarily work-related but it has not been ruled out.
Another worker lost a portion of their arm last year.
Recalling the two mill explosions in B.C. that happened 11 year ago, that killed four USW members and injuring 66 more, she said some of those injured still haven’t totally recovered.
Nobody expects a life-changing accident when they go to work and everyone can help do whatever they can to prevent that from happening, she added.
Mental health has become a huge consideration in the world in general and the USW is not immune.
A member of the safety committee at the plywood plant off and on for a decade, she has been the co-chair the last four years.
Ten years ago she and a coworker started a safety week where the joint management and safety committee make an extra effort to encourage coworkers to slow down and think before doing things.
“I watch out for coworkers as if they are my family because they are - they are my work family. I want people to go to work, be safe and go home to their families without injury,” Kirechuk said. “We lose too many people each year to workplace incidents.”
Mayor Surinderpal Rathor, who worked at Tolko Industries for 46 years said when he retired he was grateful he had all 10 fingers and toes.
Thanking the USW for organizing the ceremony, Rathor said “Everyone of us deserves the right to go home at the end of the day.”
READ MORE: EDITORIAL: National Day of Mourning for workers who died on the job
READ MORE: Mom of man killed in Kelowna crane collapse speaks out on workplace Day of Mourning
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
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