Day of Mourning – April 28

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, we come together — as workers, as families, as a community — to honour those we have lost and to reaffirm our collective commitment to fight for the living.

Every year on April 28, we pause to remember the countless workers who went to work but never returned home. Behind every injury, illness, and death is a person — a life with dreams, a family left grieving, a future taken too soon.

This year, our hearts are even heavier following the recent tragedy at the Lapu Lapu celebration on Saturday, April 26. It is a painful reminder that the fight for safety — in every form and every place — is far from over. It underscores why we must remain vigilant, why we must keep demanding safer conditions, and why we must never forget those who are no longer with us.

At Voice of the Members, we honour this day because we know safety is not a privilege — it is a right. It is our voices, our solidarity, and our demands that have built safer workplaces over generations. And it is our responsibility to carry that fight forward for those who can no longer stand beside us.

We refuse to let their sacrifice be forgotten. We refuse to let unsafe conditions become normal. We refuse to accept that any worker’s life is expendable.

"Mourn for the dead, but fight like hell for the living."

Today, we mourn, today, we remember and today, we recommit to protecting one another, to speaking up when something is wrong, and to building a future where every worker can come home safe.

Let this day be more than reflection — let it be a call to action. In their memory, and in honour of every worker still fighting for their safety, we must never let our guard down.

Honouring the fallen, fighting for the living,

Voice of the Members