More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, on Canada’s National Day of Mourning – April 28, we reflect on the workers lost and loved ones lost here and around the globe.
This has been a year unlike most others in our lifetimes, with near daily news of dedicated workers, who have lost their lives or have been forever changed due to this pandemic. Essential workers have borne the brunt of this pandemic, unable to work from home and therefore more exposed to virus transmission.
MNU has continued to advocate for higher standards of personal protective equipment (PPE) to better protect our members in their workplaces, be it in hospitals, clinics, long term care homes and residential homes. COVID-19 health and safety concerns have been compounded by pre-existing issues in in our health care system. Every year the evidence shows nurses are at increased risk to injury and illness on the job due to violence and inadequate workplace health and safety protections.
We encourage MNU members to take a minute out of your day to honour those who went to work and didn’t come home to their families. Around the world, health care workers have contracted COVID-19 and died as a result. It is difficult to know how many, but many news organizations and experts put that number in the thousands.
We mourn the dead. As the pandemic rages on, we also renew our commitment to continue the fight for the safety and well-being of the living.
The Manitoba Federation of Labour is marking the National Day of Mourning with an online candlelight vigil to remember and honour workers who have been killed or injured on the job. This event takes place at 11:30 a.m. on April 28. Please visit this link for more details: https://mfl.ca/node/2010.