Workers Memorial Day has been "unofficially" recognised for nearly 20 years, so I welcome Yvette Cooper's recent announcement that the UK will join the many other countries involved in marking this important occasion in official, international capacity. It will be held on the 28th April as part of the International Day of Action for Safety and Health at Work.

The main focus of the Day is commemorating workers who have suffered serious injury, illness and even lost their lives doing their job, but there is also a key opportunity to raise awareness of health and safety issues, that must be continually improved if we are to see incidences of injury, illness and deaths at work fall. The day is also a tribute to those who have campaigned tirelessly to improve workplace standards for today's and tomorrow's working generations, using the slogan "Remember the dead; fight for the living".

Asbestos is, of course, a major cause of fatal industrial diseases, and many people, who have worked with or around asbestos knowingly or unknowingly over the past half a century, are today paying the ultimate price for poor employer adherence to health and safety at work. Asbestos, therefore, will be a key focus of the Day for many of us, and the ongoing legal fight that must be won to ensure victims of exposure, and their families, have access to the care and compensation they need.

I will be announcing in more detail any plans for the day closer to the time and, in the meantime, I ask for your kind support in raising awareness of this Day and the issues surrounding it. You can find more information on the Hazards website.