A trade unionist group will hold a vigil in Carlisle commemorating workers who died at work.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) will meet outside the Crown and Mitre Hotel in Carlisle to commemorate International Workers Memorial Day on April 28, which in their view is a day to remember those who died ‘because an employer decided their safety just wasn’t that important a priority’, adding that more people are killed at work than wars, and most don’t ‘die of mystery ailments or in tragic accidents’.

This year’s theme is the impact of climate change on occupational health and safety because last year was the hottest on record globally, TUC said.

Workplace death and ‘employment disruption’ caused by global warming is ‘rising everywhere’, as well as ‘occupational illnesses caused by polluting fossil fuels’, a TUC spokesperson added.

Part of the event will be to make a stand for climate action and ‘commit to fight for a world’ safer to live and work in, they said.

The Carlisle chapter will meet at 11.30am outside the hotel, then line up around the Carlisle Cross at 11.55am.

At noon, there will be a minute’s silence for the workers, and for those who worked through and died during the Covid pandemic.