Workers' Memorial Day honours those who died protecting others stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Helen Kelly died of lung cancer in 2016, but her legacy as an activist and the Council of Trade Unions’ first female president lives on in health and safety law reform. “Helen Kelly was a fearless activist and leader,” Martin said. “That’s why this book honours her and [we] honour her by attending its [local launch].” Before Kelly’s death in 2016, at age 52 from lung cancer, she served as Council of Trade Unions president for a decade. She spent most of her adult life fighting for workers’ rights and her life was inseparable from the history of the modern union movement.
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New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff lays a piece of coal at the workers’ memorial in Palmerston North s Memorial Park, with city mayor Grant Smith watching on.
An annual memorial to those who have died on the job is a reminder of the need to take mental health as seriously as workplace safety experts say. Nearly 100 people took part in the International Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony at Memorial Park and the Keep All Workers Safe conference in Palmerston North on Wednesday. For more than 10 years, Unions Manawatū and the city council have held the annual ceremony in remembrance of those who have died at work.
Its rules prohibited grants for fundraising activities. Martin said the decline had come as a total shock. He had received an enthusiastic response from the committee members who first reviewed his application, and no advice that the fundraising effort could be an issue. In the past, people attending the concert had been asked to pay a koha at the door to help cover costs. This time, in the hope of raising a decent sum for Myanmar, organisers had adopted a more formal way of collecting donations. Bowen said it was no surprise panel members had been enthusiastic, but that was no guarantee of the final outcome, and as a frequent applicant, Unions Manawatū should have been familiar with the criteria.