•THE blast at Soma coal mine in Turkey prompted a strike by workers’ unions.

By PETER KAYULA –

N April 28 this year, the World commemorated the day for safety and health at work with a litany of messages painting a gloomy picture of the declining safety standards world over, putting humanity at the edge of the worst industrial and domestic disasters.

In the Ukraine, workers, families and friends dedicated the day with protests remembering the loss of their beloved ones in a nuclear plant (the chelnobol) accident in Soviet Union’s factory.

With the scale of the disaster ranking as one of the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident ever recorded in living memory, but which could have been avoided. The consumer-led protesters brought the attention of the world towards consequences so lasting, effects so devastating that no one can simply forget now.

In Bangladeshi, the central government is yet to settle close to US$40 million in compensation bill to families whose beloved ones perished following the collapsing of the country’s biggest clothing factory and reloaded in government files as one of the world’s deadly accident in the industrial sector.

The safety day was characterised by a rising tide of mass action protests linked to the memory of hundred workers who died at the hands of presumed negligence by management and declining safety standards in industries.

The British broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a special report on Thursday April, 24, 2014 and monitored in Lusaka, which said close to 1,138 workers died on the spot and 201 were injured in the accident and whose families are still demanding justice and legitimate compensation from the government. The report revealed that, “mass consumer-led protesters have been calling for change in attitudes, and regulations in view of the declining standards in industry and negligence by management who have a responsibility to provide a safe and secure working environment for every worker.”

Barely three weeks later, BBC’s mike Johnson a business reporter was on air again on April 15, 2014 (to be exact) reporting that well over 250 workers have died in turkey’s Soma coal mine disaster.

The trade union movement staged a one day strike calling for the death of the coal miners “a national tragedy.”