Workers Memorial Day 2010

Workers, NGO's and Artists unite for Workers Memorial Day

The world is preparing once again to commemorate April 28 as Workers Memorial Day. This day is remembered to underscore the need to immediately address the unsafe work conditions workers face everyday, which in turn are killing our brothers and sisters in the millions. According to the International Labor Organization, around 2 million workers die each year because of work-related accidents and diseases, while 100,000 people die of Asbestos-related diseases each year.

Here in the Philippines, the Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) is commemorating this event by launching the project “Paint the Town Red”, with support from the Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad (APHEDA), the Asia Ban Asbestos Network (A-BAN) and the Visayas Human Development Agency, Inc (ViHDA).

This project aims to tap graffiti artist and their medium to popularize issues of occupational health and safety (OHS) and asbestos bans among the general population,especially among the younger generation. By drawing the energy and dynamism of graffiti art, the mentioned issues are given a new angle for people to look into. It also allows artists to reflect on issues concerning workers, while workers are provided a kaleidoscope to view their own concerns inside workplaces.

The project location is on top of a hill along R. Duterte Street, Banawa, Cebu City. The wall is a massive 3-story high, 50 feet wide graffiti canvass. The Cebu-based graffiti crew UBEC will be the one developing the the legal piece.

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Day 1