Mine workers and their families will gather at Cessnock this weekend for the 22nd Annual CFMEU Memorial Day.
They will pay their respects to the miners who tragically lost their lives on the northern coal fields, including 53-year-old Stephen Norman who was killed in a fatal accident at the Rix Creek mine last December.
CFMEU District President, Peter Jordan says sadly, the number of names on the memorial wall continues to grow.
"I did a walk along the Memorial Wall only during the course of this week and what it reveals is in those 22 years that we've conducted a memorial service, there's been 29 names put on that wall.
"That's more than one a year so we've got a lot of work to do. We can't afford to continue to be putting one name up on that memorial wall each year. It's totally unacceptable."
He says the statistics are proof that the industry still has a long way to go towards improving its safety standards.
"What those statistics show is that the industry is still killing mine workers - that's totally unacceptable.
"We have to do something better and under no circumstances can we as an industry sit back and think or believe that we have world-class health and safety in the mining industry. The facts say that we don't."
The Memorial Day will be held at the coal mining union's Federation House in Cessnock on Sunday.
All members of the community are invited to attend.
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| [Image: Newcastle Herald] |
