Issues like personal safety, precaution and secure work environment were discussed at a seminar on ‘Building a safe and healthy environment,’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) here on Friday.
G. Appukuttan, Regional Director (in charge), National Board for Workers Education and Development, said it was important to ensure that workers were appraised of organisation-specific behaviour. “At the National Board, we customise training based on a company’s need. There are seven per cent of workers in the unorganised sector and all of them have access to guaranteed employment, provident fund, Employees’ state Insurance, pension, gratuity and leave allowance,” he said.
Addressing a gathering of over 50 members, he added that many people were still unaware of their entitlements. “It is where we step in and educate them through camps,” he said.
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“Safety must be an integral part of a company’s culture. It should not be an afterthought. It is important to have a zero-tolerance policy towards non-compliance. Physical site hazards must be removed and people must start owning up their responsibility,” said M. Senthilraja, General Manager, Chola MS Risk Services. He said that companies ended up doing last-minute crisis management or cosmetic management - both were counterproductive to the cause of security. He wanted all members in the chain of command to participate and ensure a risk-free environment. He said that accountability to safety came into being only if employers set examples to their workers.