Minister of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector, Colin Jordan, has emphasised the need for holistic wellness programmes, which address the physical, psychological, and environmental aspects of a decent work environment.
Addressing a recent ‘Workplace Wellness in Action’ forum, held in the Barbados Workers Union’s (BWU) auditorium, Harmony Hall, St. Michael, Mr. Jordan said this was necessary since, on a daily basis, people spend most of their time at work.
He told the audience that over the past six years, Government had centred its developmental agenda on people and has a number of initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of workers.
To this end, the Labour Minister highlighted the Safety and Health At Work Act, which as the name implies, regulates the health, safety, and welfare of workers.
In addition, he said the Government had endorsed and adopted the BWU’s workplace wellness policy as the National Workplace Wellness Policy. It was launched in 2019. Conceptualised by veteran trade unionist Orlando ‘Gabby’ Scott, the policy seeks to sensitise employers and employees about mental, environmental, physical, intellectual, cultural, social, spiritual, occupational, and financial wellness.
Minister Jordan underscored the importance of those nine aspects, stating: “And that is the reason why we thought that a national policy that focused specifically on the workplace was essential if we were going to make a difference in the lives of people…. The Safety and Health at Work Act mandates the establishment of safety and health committees.
“I indicated earlier that we approach this matter of wellness, recognising it to be more holistic, but we also understand that we cannot take our eyes off of regular safety and health issues in workplaces.”
He also appealed to the safety and health committees to broaden their remit and to include wellness in their considerations.
“We also want those committees, workers, and employers generally to recognise that wellness is really overarching…, and if we get that right, then many safety issues, many health issues will become less … and we’ll be able to have more committed, more productive, and more fulfilled workers in our workspaces,” he said.
Mr. Jordan also disclosed that his Ministry was in discussion with the trade unions regarding “observations”, particularly in occupations where employees are required to work at varying heights.
“Some of those observations include the fact that they have been in the last … four or five years some tragedies coming out of persons working at heights. And we’ve started discussion, we’ll engage the union on that because we believe that this may be the time when we need some regulation on working at heights,” he said.
Also addressing the forum was General Secretary of the Barbados Workers, Toni Moore. She stressed that employers had a critical role to play in promoting wellness within their organisations.
“We have, as employees, to take responsibility for actions that will improve our own wellness. But we recognise that in the work environment…, we operate as part of teams and organisations…. So, organisations have the responsibility to support good wellness practices along all nine dimensions….,” Ms. Moore stated.
The Workplace Wellness in Action forum featured several presentations, including an overview of the policy by Professor Dwayne Devonish.
There were also exhibits by the National Conservation Commission, the National Transformation Initiative, the Psychiatric Hospital, Carlisle Laboratories, the BWU and the Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Foundation.