High school students from Technical Vocational High Schools were joined by labour and community leaders in a “Leaders Walk” to mark the National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job today.

The marchers walked to the Manitoba Legislature where they met up with the Premier and Labour Minister for a Day of Mourning event. The Premier spoke about the importance of not just creating jobs, but creating safe and healthy jobs. In particular, he stressed the importance of mental health in the workplace. Labour Minister Jennifer Howard outlined an ambitious new five year workplace injury and illness prevention plan

The Leaders Walk is organized by SAFE Workers of Tomorrow, an organization that provides face-to-face training to high school students about their workplace safety rights. SAFE Workers of Tomorrow presenters Gratton Stefanation and Erika Reis spoke about the fact that workplace deaths and injuries are preventable.

The National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job was initiated by Canadian labour activists in the 1980s, and has since been recognized by more than 100 countries around the world.