Every year more people are killed at work than in wars. International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) on the 28th April commemorates those workers.
On this day, workers and trade unions around the world will come together to remember those who have died, been injured, or made ill because of work and to demand action to prevent further harm.
These injuries are not only physical, but include psychosocial injuries and hazards. Work‑related stress, excessive workloads, long and unpredictable hours, job insecurity, bullying, harassment, workplace violence, and the misuse of technology and surveillance are among the leading causes of work‑related ill health worldwide. These risks contribute to mental ill health, cardiovascular disease, burnout, and suicide, yet are preventable. Despite this, they are still too often ignored or treated as individual resilience issues rather than recognised as health and safety failures rooted in how work is organised. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) warns that deregulation, weak enforcement, insecure work, climate-related pressures, and technological intensification are driving a global rise in psychosocial harm.
The continued importance of International Workers’ Memorial Day is captured in this TUC timeline.
Workers Memorial Day: a timeline which details some of the events in British labour history where employer and government failures led to the preventable deaths of workers. It also includes dates which mark when trade unions won key legislative change to protect rights to safety at work.
List of IWMD Local Events
Workers’ Memorial Day – 2026 | Megaphone UK
The TUC and Scottish TUC have published the details of a list of many local events across England, Scotland, and Wales which are taking place from 24th April right through to 2nd May 2026, the above link has details of these events.
TUC Cymru have also organised a Wales’ National Workers’ Memorial Day event.
Details can be found at this link – TUC CYMRU – Workers Memorial Day 2026
Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) WMD Event
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) normally mark International Workers’ Memorial Day with a wreath laying ceremony at the IWMD Commemorative Tree in the grounds of the Parliament Buildings Stormont Estate, Stormont Ct, Belfast BT4 3LP. For further event details email: info@ictuni.net
Many more events will take place on International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026 which may not be officially listed. We therefore advise that enquiries should be made with local Trades Councils and other Trade Unions, Local Authorities, Hazards, and other campaign organisations for details of local IWMD events that Branch Reps and members may further wish to support.
‘Light up Purple’ CWU campaign for IWMD
The ‘Light Up Purple’ campaign continues to grow in the name of the CWU since 2022. We invite and encourage any CWU members or IWMD activists to continue to ask for local landmarks, buildings, bridges, town halls to ‘light up for IWMD’ to remember the estimated 2.7 million workers who die globally each year because of occupational accidents or work-related diseases.
A few of the many landmarks, buildings, bridges that will be lighting up purple on the 28th of April 2026 are listed via the link below, which also includes an updated link to the latest ‘Light up Purple’ Sway webpages: CWU LIGHT UP PURPLE CAMPAIGN 2026 | Megaphone UK
If you are interested in more information on the Global IWMD events campaigns and further guides and news items, you can visit the 28April.org website – 28 April | Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living – which contains details of the hugely valuable work undertaken by Hazards magazine and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact:
Jamie McGovern FRSPH MIIAI
CWU Health & Safety Policy Assistant at jmcgovern@cwu.org