Our employees are our most valuable resource. Protecting their health and that of the contractors working at our sites is our top priority. In order to minimize workplace accidents and occupational illnesses, we raise awareness about health issues and deploy prevention measures on a daily basis.
Taking action to prevent occupational illnesses
The impacts of our activities on the health of our employees are not always immediate. Certain health problems, such as musculoskeletal disorders do not become apparent for several years. Only a methodical and multi-disciplinary approach that brings together occupational physicians, hygienists and toxicologists will enable us to fully understand the impacts and implement appropriate preventive measures.
In line with the Health, Safety and Environment management systems in place within the Group, our health guidelines set out our guiding principles:
- Identifying potential impacts.
- Assessing the risks according to each specific workplace situation.
- Defining action plans.
Under our guidelines, a Health & Hygiene coordinator is appointed at each site and is tasked with:
- Ensuring that a system of preventive health care, and protection and promotion of occupational health is implemented at the site.
- Coordinating activities with various stakeholders from the Health, Safety and Environment network or human resources.
- Documenting all preventive health care initiatives.
- Reporting occupational illnesses.
This approach aims to ensure the continuous improvement of our health risk management process.
Monitoring our employees' health
We provide medical checkups for almost all of our employees. Some affiliates have in-house health services, while medical monitoring for employees at smaller sites around the world is provided by external health centers selected by physicians in our International Medical Department. Our physicians conduct regular audits of our partner health facilities in our host countries.
Ensuring the quality of the medical resources available to our employees is one of the principles of the global agreement that we signed with IndustriALL Global Union in January 2015. This international trade union federation represents more than 50 million employees in 140 countries in the energy, mining and manufacturing sectors.