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Seven CUPE members died on the job last year. That’s the most since 1998.

In the latest issue of Health and Safety Update, Rex Hillier, co-chair of CUPE’s national health and safety committee, says the high number of deaths really underscores the importance of this year’s National Day of Mourning.

”They went to work and never came home” said Hillier. “That needs to be heard by our members and by employers, who can and should make our workplaces safer and healthier.”

On average more than 950 Canadians are killed at work every year. That’s a much higher rate than many other comparable countries, including the Britain and the U.S.

Workplace injury numbers are difficult to know for sure, but Workers Compensation Boards, on average, accept about 374,000 time-loss injury claims per year and the number of actual workplace injuries is estimated to be over one million per year.

To learn more about the significance of this year’s April 28 National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, check out the latest edition of CUPE’s Health and Safety Update.

Health and Safety Update is published four times a year by the CUPE National Health and Safety Branch. Offering the latest news and developments in the health and safety world, Update looks at the occupational impacts for CUPE members and Canadian workers.

Issues are available online at CUPE.ca/HSupdate. Paper editions are provided through CUPE’s general mailing. Subscribe to the email edition of Health and safety update by signing up.