Media Advisory - Pictou County Asked to Support National Campaign to Enforce 'Westray Law'

Workers and families are asking municipal councillors in Pictou County to support the Stop the Killing, Enforce the Law campaign

PICTOU COUNTY, NS, March 7, 2014 /CNW/ - The National Director of the United Steelworkers (USW) and members of the Westray Families' Group will attend the March 10 Municipal Council meeting to call on councillors to support a resolution for better enforcement of a law that holds corporations, their directors and executives criminally accountable for workplace deaths.

WHO:	United Steelworkers National Director Ken Neumann and Westray Families
WHAT:	Motion presentation to Pictou County Council
WHERE:	Council Chambers, 46 Municipal Drive, Pictou
WHEN:	7 p.m., Monday, March 10, 2014

The 'Westray Law' was passed unanimously in Parliament a decade ago. It came in response to the horrific Westray coalmine explosion in Pictou County that killed 26 miners on May 9, 1992, and after a strong lobby campaign to demand "No More Westrays."

However, in the decade since, more than 9,000 Canadians have been killed on the job, yet not one corporate executive has faced a single day in jail.

The United Steelworkers has launched a national campaign asking Attorneys-General to take steps to enforce the Westray Law. The resolution to Pictou County Municipal Council asks for support of this initiative.

 

SOURCE: United Steelworkers (USW)

For further information:

Ken Neumann, USW National Director, 416-558-2510
Stephen Hunt, USW District 3 Director, 604-816-2554
Sylvia Boyce, USW Health, Safety and Environment Coordinator, 905-741-9830, [e-mail]
Bob Gallagher, USW Communications, 416-544-5966, 416-434-2221, [e-mail]