This Wednesday the 28th of April 2010 will mark the 26th annual commemoration of those who were injured, disabled, made unwell or even killed by their work. Known as Workers’ Memorial Day, the 28th of April is a day of remembrance honored by cultures across the globe from Canada and the United States through much of Europe, Asia and Africa. Workers’ Memorial Day is more than just a day of respecting the memory of the ill used and mistreated, it’s a day of revitalizing the efforts of labor unions, justice coalitions, and all of those working for fair, safe, healthy work environments for people throughout the world.

Union activity, litigation, and privately, federally and state funded employee education efforts have gone a long way in the past years and decades. Whether it’s the development of regulations and restrictions regarding the use of asbestos products, the banning of lead in consumer products, or any of the other hundreds of advances in employee safety, public outcry and participation has always made a difference.

Employee’s rights have certainly come a long way. The West Virginia branch of the AFCL-CIO, an international federation of labor unions, states that since the establishment of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), “job fatalities, injuries and illnesses have been reduced significantly as have exposures to toxic substances such as asbestos, lead, benzene and cotton dust.”

While progress is definitely something to celebrate, the fight to secure the rights of workers continues every day. Every year approximately 270 million occupational accidents occur worldwide and more than 150 million incidents of work related illness are reported. Almost half a million people are killed annually from hazardous industrial substances alone, and more than one fifth of those are due to asbestos exposure.

While asbestos contamination is beginning to decline in many developed nations, its use continues with little or no restriction in developing countries. Mesothelioma, a fatal cancer caused by asbestos, as well as an array of other diseases linked to the dangerous substance will continue to claim innocent people’s lives as long as restrictions aren’t tightened and the responsible organizations aren’t held accountable.

“As vividly demonstrated by worker safety disasters that recently occurred, too many workers remain at risk, and face death, injury or disease as a result of their jobs,” said the AFCL-CIO spokesperson in West Virginia. “A workers’ right to have a safe work environment will require further workplace safety regulations and enforcement. It is our hope that Workers’ Memorial Day will help focus greater attention on workplace conditions and further our efforts to enact safety and health legislation.”

With April 28th right around the corner, there’s no better time to keep the Workers’ Memorial Day slogan in mind: “Remember the dead, fight for the living.”