Letters / ‘The fight for health and safety for the living is vital’
Almost two weeks have passed since a painful but profoundly poignant International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) for me spent in Aberdeen.
Fifty weeks countdown now until Sunday 28 April 2024.
Shetland Islands Council left me and all other families devastated with their disconnect about the work of IWMD, Scottish Hazards, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK).
Let there be light? Town Hall policy disappoints workplace charity
On Thursday I met with Ian Tasker of Scottish Hazards who as a Scottish charity fights for improved health and safety for all of those who work in Scotland and who remember and honour all lives of folk who die at work.
We thought about how we find meaning in our grief for all those who died at work including my own father.
The fight for health and safety for the living is vital.
The irony of the story in Shetland News on Thursday about risks for staff flying flags in the top of our town hall is overflowing.
I want a peaceful resolution; I am touched by local island and mainland support. I am hugely grateful to all of you. Please accept my gratitude for your compassion and solidarity.
Next year, I hope the flag on the town hall flies safely, the town hall and the Mareel are both lit up purple, we have a memorial stone where we can gather and honour our loved ones on IWMD and anytime throughout the year.
As families we need a place to go when gravestones are too far away or for whom there are none.
Next year our local government, our trade unions, our whole community I do hope join the international movement that is IWMD.
Joyce Davies
Scalloway
