Workplace Wellness Policy soon

A National Workplace Wellness Policy for Barbados will soon be rolled out.

Word of this came from General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Senator Toni Moore, while addressing Regal Development Solutions (RDS) “Emerging Issues in Health and Safety in the Workplace” conference, held at the Hilton Resort, yesterday.

The policy, which has been three years in the making, is a collaborative effort of the BWU alongside the public sector, business community, NGOs involved in health promotion and supported by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

“We are now in the final phases... We have been developing this Policy over the last three years or so, and the reasons for it taking as long as it has, have much to do with the complicated issues that are involved in examining such a policy and trying to derive a Policy that fits the bill… but also one that can get the buy-in of the wide range of stakeholders,” she explained.

“Under the policy framework we hope to achieve the development of healthy workplace environments, supported by comprehensive, well guided wellness policies and programmes. We hope also to be able to develop strategic partnerships with various national stakeholders in the government and private sector, educational institutions and other civil society organisations to promote and sustain a high quality of health and wellness in the general population.”

Senator Moore, commending RDS on the conference recalled that the BWU emphasised over the years the need for government ministries and the private sector to co-ordinate such training programmes to apprise people of emerging issues.

She also shared that the BWU, working in partnership with the Ministry of Health has been in the forefront of dealing with the negative impacts of poor lifestyle choices with lead to NCDs, for example cardiovascular diseases, and the risk factors associated with communicable diseases such as Zika and Dengue fever as well as the safety and health risks associated with the workplace such as sick building syndrome.

“Sick building syndrome, this is a topic that can be quite embarrassing because of the number of government offices which have been closed because of sick building syndrome related issues. We heard most recently about the situation with the Courts. What causes sick buildings – things such as poor maintenance of buildings… We have had as a result then the enduring issue of dislocation of workers,” it was explained.

“One of the things that frustrates me as a Trade Union leader is that we have to be mounting protest on these issues. I can understand mounting protest on issues of wage increases, on issues of other conditions – but it upsets me when we have to be protesting against health and safety concerns that everybody should be concerned with addressing, with minimal prompting,” Senator Moore stressed. (TL)