Health
We regard our employees as our most important asset, so protecting and enhancing their health and wellbeing is as vital as their safety. Having a healthy workforce also provides benefits to both employees and the business. Coal & Allied recognises that in order to achieve our goal of zero occupational illnesses, we need to provide more focus on the general health and wellbeing of our people.
Our approach
In 2004, Rio Tinto introduced Health Standards to be implemented across the Group. As audits were conducted, Rio Tinto found that the standards led to a significant increase in employees' awareness of health issues and to a very noticeable improvement in performance.
Coal & Allied is committed to placing considerable effort into further developing and embedding the Health Standards, primarily through its wellness strategy.
The wellness strategy, developed in 2007 and to be deployed in 2008, aims to:
- Assist employees in making informed and educated health and lifestyle choices
- Improve health and wellness outcomes and therefore increase productivity
- Help our people to work and live longer and healthier lives
- Help our people recognise that occupational disease is preventable and maximise every opportunity to reduce the workplace impacts on individuals and work related injury cases.
A variety of tools are currently being used to assist the deployment of the programme. These include health risk assessment, tailored health interventions including exercise activities, and a disease management programme.
Results
In 2007 our targets were to further embed Rio Tinto health standards and draft a health and wellness strategy. Both of these were achieves as detailed above.
A health and wellness programme was also piloted in the Brisbane office, with an employee participation rate of 34 per cent for full time employees and 40 per cent for contractors.
