Keen to raise his workers health and safety risk awareness and provide them with the tools to manage and reduce risk on a daily basis, manager Wayne Terry engaged Impactt to deliver training to his workers at Readymix Gulf as a part of the company’s Safety Month.

As site manager of the Sharjah and Ajman sites, lesser known Emirates of the UAE, Mr Terry has seen firsthand that his workers, who originate from southern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have little consciousness of the potential health and safety risks they encounter in their work each day and are thus frequently putting themselves at risk of injury.

Workers at Readymix Gulf largely work either as drivers (of trucks delivering the cement) or in the workshop (fixing the trucks). The nature of these jobs is such that workers are engaged in a multitude of different processes both on and off site on a daily basis.

An effective health and safety management system is clearly important in this situation as it enables for the promotion of a safe working environment and the facility monitoring it. However, in addition to this, a level of personal awareness and responsibility is critical for identifying and reducing risk in what is a complex and frequently changing environment.

To meet this need, in consultation with management and supervisors, Impactt developed a bespoke training programme which was delivered in Hindi and covered:

• Why care about health and safety?
• What are the health and safety H&S risks on concrete processing plants?
• Basic health and safety on site
• Build Safe UAE and how workers can contribute
• The view from workers
• Chemicals on site and how to use them safely
• Safety for drivers

Visits to site prior to the training session were important for collecting information on, and photos of, how workers were working so that the group exercises and presentations presented situations that the workers themselves had experienced. Each of the sessions involved exercises where workers worked in group to assess a situation, identify the issues, and discuss strategies for addressing them.

Using these kinds of participatory methods for training is very effective, particularly when dealing with semi-literate audiences. Plus they mark a good change from presentation heavy sessions and can be quite enjoyable – the workers had a great deal of fun working in teams to act out the animated safety stories developed by Build Safe UAE!

Finally throughout the sessions, and particularly in ‘The View from Workers’, we worked hard to facilitate workers to talk about their own view of health and safety and what needed to happen to manage the risks on site. In our experience workers have frequently thought before about their health on site and have some of the best suggestions for tackling safety issues.

Workers reported that they will “think about a safe exit before start of work in case of an emergency” and “review an area for risks before starting work and take steps to reduce them”, which indicates an encouraging level of risk awareness. Mr Terry reported following the training that “all the workers were very happy and satisfied with the course which has had a positive impact on site”.

If you are interested in finding out more about Impactt’s training services in the UAE and other Gulf countries please contact jaana@impacttlimited.com.

• Shared safety alerts – members submit information about health and safety incidents in their businesses and these are shared on a weekly basis with all members. These alerts detail what the issue was and what measures should be put in place to prevent it. The safety alerts have been on topics such as ‘Safeguards against fires and explosions during construction’, ‘Amputation due to miscommunication’ and ‘Kitchen burn injury’.
• Best practice alerts – again these are shared by members of the initiative, but focus on sharing good practice that prevents H&S issues. Topics have included: ‘Communicating alerts effectively’, ‘The Don’t Walk by Campaign’ and the ’30 minute bin it – housekeeping campaign’.
• Database of statistics – driven by a lack of reliable data from other sources, 16 of the main contractors of BSU now submit their accident information to the database on a weekly basis. There is a full set of data for the year 2008 which shows interesting trends in accidents and lost time injuries.
• Focus Groups – working groups which develop best practice guidance for members on key H&S issues such as falls from height and labour camp accommodation.

Information about all of the above can be found on the BSU website, along with useful reference information and tools such as H&S legislation, safety posters and risk assessments for key machinery/processes in construction. In the spirit of sharing and free access, anyone can sign up to the website to review this information.

With a general absence in the UAE of capacity building partnerships to tackle labour standards issues, Impactt applauds the work of BSU. While there is surely more work to be done inside member companies in terms of addressing health and safety issues, at least they have publicly committed to taking steps to do so and are working together to achieve a common goal.  

The challenge to the initiative is to spread its reach further and recruit those companies who have not yet understood the business benefits of good health and safety. Graeme Mc Caig, Chairman of BSU (and General Manager of Dutco Balfour Beatty) is a firm believer and champion of this case: “By implementing an effective H&S management system in your business, you will make more money… When you invest in H&S you will get a return”.

Currently BSU does not engage directly with workers and relies upon a top down approach for communicating the shared safety and best practice alerts. To ensure the full extent of its good work is being realised, BSU should consider involving workers in the initiative and harnessing their knowledge. Our experience from other industries shows that workers have some of the best and most cost effective ideas for tackling health and safety issues!

As you will have seen from our blogs of the past few weeks, the attention in the UAE on labour standards for migrant construction workers has been immense.

There was a depth of discussion and debate about labour standards over the three days, but the issues that came up repeatedly included:

• What does CSR mean in the UAE and what are the responsibilities of business and government?
• Conditions in accommodation and welfare camps and how to maintain reasonable standards
• Health and safety for construction workers on site
• Training and skills development, especially in times of economic crisis
• Repatriation of workers who have lost their jobs

While discussion is good and necessary, it was great to see the Ministry of Labour announce  two initiatives that will directly impact the lives of workers – the development of a central electronic payment system and internationally recognised minimum standards for worker accommodation across Dubai.

In terms of private sector initiatives, the presentations (x 3!) from Build Safe UAE stood out as a shining light of practical collaboration to address health and safety issues. While the presentations at the GCC summit from the Labour Solidarity Center and the Builder and Wood Workers International union, ensured that the call for free unions and worker representation was also made.

The General Consul of India in Dubai made an important contribution to the debate at the GCC conference by talking about his office’s efforts to prepare workers pre-departure from their home country, monitor and support them whilst they are here and ensure they are returned safely. His presentation can be found here.

The dialogue underway at this week’s conferences reflects the changing tone of the Ministry of Labour here and the recognition by businesses that something has to be done. In Impactt’s perspective, there were two overriding themes, both of which have proved critical in addressing poor labour conditions in other countries:

• The importance of partnership – between business and the governments of both host and sending countries.
• The need for ongoing transparency and openness – admitting the problems and discussing the solutions in an open forum is a new thing in the UAE and we need to see more of it!

Impactt applauds all actors in the UAE for taking the first steps on the road to improved labour standards. We also encourage them to look at the work being done in the US and the UK, who face similar issues, and learn from their experiences – and mistakes!

Author: Jaana Quaintance

Low taxes and political stability have made this an attractive location for an increasing number of manufacturers in the past 10 years. The key products being made include cement, building materials, aluminium, fertilisers, foodstuffs, beverages, garments, furniture, plastics, glass, fibreglass and processed metals. Its central location in the Gulf region makes the UAE an ideal sourcing hub for both European and U.S. based purchasing companies. 

However, to date little attention has been given to conditions for workers in these sectors. In our experience they, like the construction industry, use a high proportion of migrant labour from countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. Whilst middle men demanding recruitment fees may be less common according to reported findings, the following issues have been identified:

• Retention of passports by employers
• Low pay and long hours
• False records
• Inadequate maintenance of fire equipment and other H&S facilities
• Outsourcing to smaller units where there is low visibility of conditions

Impactt encourages attention being placed on the conditions for construction workers, because it is certain that action is needed in this area. However, non-construction related industries should be aware that their supply chain here may present them with considerable risk because of poor labour standards.   

Author: Jaana Quaintance