Members of Bexhill and Battle Trades Union Council (BBTUC) will be in Devonshire Square on Saturday (26 April) to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day.
The BBTUC committee – made up of members of the CWU, Unite, Unison and GMB – will be in Devonshire Square from 10am-12noon on Saturday morning to commemorate those killed or injured at work.
International Workers’ Memorial Day falls on 28 April every year and is a global opportunity to remember all those who have died at work. Last year at least 138 people across England died just while doing their jobs – an increase on the previous year when 135 men and women were killed at work.
But BBTUC is warning that this figure from the Health and Safety Executive is likely to be an underestimate, as certain sectors are not included, and neither are figures for deaths from occupational illnesses.
Shopworkers campaign
Shopworkers in Bexhill are facing increasing incidents of shoplifting and violence.
This International Workers’ Memorial Day, BBTUC is focusing is calling for urgent action to protect shopworkers from such abuse and harm.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) annual crime survey covering the 2023/24 period, published in January 2025 revealed:
- Retail violence and abuse has increased over 50% from 2019 levels, to more than 2,000 incidents a day.
- Losses from customer theft reached a record £2.2 billion in 2023/24.
BBTUC is supporting the BRC’s ShopKind campaign to unite the retail sector in tackling violence and abuse against shopworkers by asking people to ShopKind when in stores.
The ShopKind campaign aims to:
- Encourage positive behaviours in shops.
- Acknowledge the important role of shopworkers.
- Highlight the scale and impact of violence and abuse against shopworkers.
BBTUC is also backing the USDAW union’s longstanding Freedom from Fear campaign, which seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers.
BBTUC Chair Paul Plim said: “International Workers’ Memorial Day remembers workers who have been killed or injured at work.
“Around the world, the union movement is uniting to commemorate workers who have lost their lives because of their job, or who have been made ill from work-related injury and diseases.
“We know Bexhill retail workers have suffered high levels of abuse at work, so this year we are particularly focused on the ShopKind and Freedom from Fear campaigns to keep shopworkers safe from violence.
“Everyone deserves to be respected and protected at work. Join us and stand up for justice in the workplace!”