Northumberland Labour Council held a ceremony on Thursday, April 28, 2022 at Lucas Point to commemorate the National Day of Mourning recognizing all people who has lost their lives, suffered injury or illness on the job as a result of work related event or tragedy.
President of the Northumberland Labour Council, Dan Tobin said, “on this day, we remember and pay tribute to workers who die each year due to workplace causes. While we mourn the dead, we all must dedicate ourselves to the continued fight for the living.”
Tobin said workplaces need to be held to a higher account for not protecting employees.
Guest Speaker was David Pettigrew – Vice President C.U.P.E. Local 5852 and OCHU Health & Safety Committee Chair.
Port Hope Mayor Bob Sanderson along with Cobourg Major John Henderson were also present and spoke at the event.
About the National Day of Mourning – Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
In 1991, eight years after the day of remembrance was launched by the Canadian Labour Congress, the Parliament of Canada passed the Workers Mourning Day Act making April 28 an official Day of Mourning. Today the Day of Mourning has since spread to more than 100 countries around the world and is recognized as Workers’ Memorial Day, and as International Workers’ Memorial Day by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
It is the hope of CCOHS that the annual observance of this day will help strengthen the resolve to establish safe and healthy conditions in the workplace, and prevent further injuries, illnesses, and
deaths. As much as this is a day to remember the dead, it is also a call to protect the living and make work a place where people can thrive.
*Note: The Victoria Hall flag poles are not equipped with halyards and pullies and are unable to fly at half-mast due to the Government of Canada’s general rules for flying and displaying the Canadian flag. The flags were removed completely for the day.
Cobourg Mayor John Henderson’s speech
Day of Mourning, April 28, 2022
On October 15th, Lorenzo who owned a construction company went to visit a work site before going home for his daughter Melissa’s twentieth birthday celebration. It was a milestone birthday, and his wife Lisa knew how to throw a wonderful birthday party. He was looking forward to it immensely – especially the cake. But events at the site took a wrong and tragic turn. Sadly, as fate would have it, Lorenzo suffered fatal injuries at that work site that day and would succumb to his injuries the following day. Lorenzo never made it home and the family, especially Melissa, mourns the loss of her father, on her birthday every year. In fact, it took her years to even celebrate her birthday.
Every day in Ontario, workers are killed or injured despite the best efforts of organizations to ensure safe working conditions for them.
If you Google workers killed in Ontario, you will be astonished at the number of tragic stories you will read.
For some, like our police and fire service “heroes” I will call them, risk is part of their jobs. Over the past two years through the pandemic, our health care workers have risked their lives and continue to do so. They show up every day to keep us safe.
Today, we mourn the loss of the life of these workers – those who know the risks and are called to do their jobs — for those who are new to their jobs and safety protocols – for our new Canadians who are sometimes at higher risk and for those for whom safe working conditions didn’t exist.
The loss of one life is too big a price to pay.
We must do better as employers to keep our workers safe.
I place this wreath today in honour of the workers that we have lost, who have been injured – their lives are not forgotten but remembered and cherished.
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Story 1
I was asked to write a few words on the good and the not so good of how things were in long term care the last few years. Well, here is my thoughts as a 20 plus year psw… it has not been easy on the staff or the residents. Residents and staff both have missed their families and friends very much. No one wants to be the one to bring the pandemic to work so we have been staying away from our loved ones to. The lack of staff because of the staff having to work only one job only made things even more of a struggle in an already hard situation.
It was heart breaking for families not to be able to come in and see their loved ones with the limited time that they have left.
Residents miss seeing peoples faces and their smiles. It has also been difficult for us to communicate with some because of the masks.
On a good note… all staff from office to housekeeping to kitchen and activations all pitched in and helped where needed. I think we should all be proud at the job that was done.
I do know that we are all tired and can’t wait to get back to normal. Residents and staff need their families, staff need some time off to rest as many did overtime and double shifts to get through and some have had no vacation time for a few years.
Our wonderful residents want to see peoples faces again.
Covid made it into many homes and I believe that we all did the best we could to keep our residents safe and as happy as we could in a very difficult time.
I hope in the years to come staffing numbers will improve so we can give our most vulnerable people everything they deserve. ❤
Story 2
Working during the pandemic has been obviously extremely difficult. The range of emotions that I have endured from Day 1 until now, so many months/years later. have been all over the place to be honest. We could not have contemplated the length of time this has been ongoing. In the beginning I was completely terrified. Terrified for myself, my family, my friends and my coworkers. It has been a challenge all along. I’m still terrified but possibly in a different way.
Initially, we struggled to be provided with proper PPE. As non-regulated staff it was felt that it was not necessary for us to be protected regardless of the fact that we were working directly on the front line. Of course, I felt that it was necessary myself, to be protected, to be able to work in a safe environment and have the ability that when I left at the end of my shift, to know that my family was also protected from me. Some like myself, worked in the ER department and were in the midst of Camp Zero with all of the unknowns, what each patient may have, what each RN/RPN, doctor, RT, etc. has been exposed to and what they were exposing me to. It took some time I would say a couple of months at least before we were recognized as essential and deserving of the same protections as all other staff. I remember the first covid patient that arrived in our ER, I was completely terrified. It was new obviously, no one was completely sure of what they were doing, if they were doing it correctly and it was all trial and error. I wasn’t properly protected with only a level 1 mask. Nursing was coming in and out of the room, coming around me and I did not feel protected at all.
I went home in tears that night so afraid for everyone, not wanting to be around my family at all, not to expose them, especially my immunocompromised child. Stripping all my clothes off at the back door, directly into the washer and then jumping directly into the shower to get everything off. Having Javex wipes in the car to wipe every inch of the car when I got in and when I got out to try to kill any virus, I may have brought with me. That has continued all along.
Eventually, with some arguing and help from our Union, we were finally able to procure the correct level of PPE to protect all of us working in the Covid units and although it didn’t end our worry, we were at least able to feel that we had some protection. I still went home after each shift, stripped, washed my clothes and had a shower. Wiped everything down that I touched and constantly washed and sanitized my hands to the point that they were dry and chapped.
The challenges with my job continued through each wave of the pandemic as procedures and policies were constantly changing. What type of PPE we needed, one day we did, one day we didn’t need it? Dealing with the public was difficult as many were still against vaccines didn’t understand why they couldn’t come be with family. The continual verbal abuse both in person and over the phone has been at an all time high I would say. It has been heartbreaking having to tell a family member that they couldn’t see their loved ones at a time in their lives that they needed to be with one another. We were limited in the information that we could share with families and their frustration escalated as well as the pressures and frustrations for myself trying to do my job. Knowing that if I was the patient, I would want my loved one there or if it were my family, to be there with them.
I ended up contracting COVID at work not from anything that any one of us had done wrong. It has been awful. Being extremely sick and not having the ability to have anyone care for you. Regardless of being fully vaccinated, boosted and doing everything possible correctly. Avoiding gatherings, eating out, only doing the necessities and going to work daily. It has been a struggle as it has been an extended illness, not being able to return to work some 4 months later still. I can feel the improvements but it has been an uphill battle. Not only from the health stand point but also from receiving the proper compensation due the workplace exposure. Honestly, every time I hear someone say that covid is just a cold or a flu in my opinion and my experience is very wrong and causes great amounts of anger from myself. I have never been off sick from work previously for a cold or the flu. So many with symptoms and simply saying but it’s not covid, when we know, chances are, it is. Everyone saying they are tired of covid and just want to live a normal life is frustrating because that is what we all want as well but not at the expense of our health and the health of those around us and of course our Healthcare system. It isn’t over for us Healthcare workers at all. I am hopeful that the 6th wave is finally the final wave but I think we would all be quite naive in having that belief. I’m honestly not too sure how we are going to make it through if we have to endure anymore.
Poem
The Stress of Covid
As I drive to work, a scary feeling comes over me
The highway is empty and the billboard reads
STAY HOME stop the spread of Covid
This is not possible as I have a job to do
I look after many others as I am a PSW
I arrive at work feeling ready for my day
It starts with good morning are you feeling ok?
Then questions of many my temperature taken
Then given a mask to wear oh how do I hate them
I understand why they have to be worn
So we can keep everyone safe from a pandemic storm
But they are always easy to wear as we all struggle with the heat as there is no cool air
They do not just affect us but our residents to as they struggle to hear us
As they miss our familiar faces too
We all still keep smiling under our masks
Because our residents need us to help them with tasks
They do miss their families they miss them for sure
So we are all trying hard to be just a little bit more
Hearing news of outbreaks in long term care we are all working hard
And are donning our gear
We don our masks 8 hrs a day and other PPE’s to keep Covid away
It has not been easy it has been challenging you see
These bi-weekly covid tests or one every time that you sneeze
The worry and waiting for results to come in you have no idea how stressful it has been
None of us want to bring it to work that would be terrible so awful for sure
Through the hot summer with no holidays and staff shortages we are not ok
People are emotionally, physically and financially worn
Hopefully sooner than later this terrible Covid will be gone
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
