Today, 28 April, is International Workers Memorial Day. It is a day to remember all those who have lost their lives whilst at work or due to accidents or illnesses contracted through their work.

There are 3 events listed taking place in Orkney where the flag on the council building will be at half mast and a wreath laying will take place:

• Orkney (11:15am): Community Centre, Kirkwall
• Orkney (12:30pm): Orkney Island Council, Orkney
• Orkney (2:30pm): Community Centre, Kirkwall

People in Orkney can find out more about International Workers Memorial Day at a display in the foyer of the Community Centre in Broad Street Kirkwall. On display will be the banner made from used Medical Scrubs, embroidered by people in Orkney, Shetland, and Aberdeen, to commemorate those killed in Gaza.

The TUC website has an online memorial wall for some those who are being remembered today.

This is an international day of remembrance and includes all those who have been killed whilst doing their job in places of conflict.

Over 290 workers for the United Nations Relief Agency in Gaza (UNRWA) have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

Also in Gaza, over 1000 healthcare workers have been killed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that as of April 25, 2025, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 176 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.

At least 17 journalists and media workers have been killed covering the war in Ukraine and CPJ is investigating whether the deaths of two others were related to their journalism. The CPJ website includes a list of the journalists killed.

Those killed were not armed soldiers but people delivering aid, rescuing the injured from under rubble, and reporting on the war crimes taking place so that the rest of the world cannot say ‘we did not know’.

Fiona Grahame