Cinnamon Grand puts safety first at work

By Rashika Fazali

The number of work-related deaths annually has gradually increased over the years with two million people dying every year, stated National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) Director General Champika Amarasinghe.

However in Sri Lanka, the annual deaths through work-related accidents are between 1,750 and 3,000 out of a working population of eight million, mentioned Amarasinghe. She added that most occupational fatalities occur in the construction and the manufacturing industry.

Amarasinghe also noted that 67% of the population in Sri Lanka have non-communicable diseases like diabetes due to work patterns, and, most often than not, lack of proper nutrition and exercise.

Speaking at the Cinnamon Grand’s monthly awareness program organised by the hotel’s Sustainability Division and Green Team held recently, Cinnamon Grand Communications and Sustainability Marketing Manager Tharika Gunathilake said: “As much as we are profit-oriented, we have to look after our staff and make sure that they go back home the same way that they came to us.”

Amarasinghe, speaking on the theme ‘Occupational Hazards,’ noted that the occupational fatalities in Sri Lanka could be more than what is recorded as people and companies are quite reluctant to share information on these fatalities due to numerous reasons.

She added that many companies refrain from reporting occupational fatalities because it could tarnish an organisation’s reputation, result in having to pay huge sums in compensation, or because companies simply believe that reporting is unnecessary.

Many hazards, accidents and diseases are considered under occupational fatalities such as accident and violence, malignant tumours, urogenital problems, digestive problems, neuropsychiatry problems, contagious diseases, and circulatory problems.

Speaking on the many contributing factors to occupational hazards in the hotel industry, Amarasinghe mentioned mechanical causes like wet floors, oil spills, etc., biological causes like micro-organisms, microbes, etc., chemicals used for the cleaning of the pool, etc., ergonomics like proper posture and psychological hazards like stress are considered as occupational hazards. She added that even environmental factors like noise, whole body vibration, lighting and indoor climates also matter.

Amarasinghe also noted that there happens to be a correlation between work and health, stating: “To be healthy you need to work and in order to work you need to be healthy.” Likewise she added that if the work place is not a healthy area, then there would be a lot of diseases, if the work place is not safe, then there would be a lot of accidents.

This can only result in a major setback for an organisation – low profitability due to low productivity.

Amarasinghe defined the term occupational health in these words: “It is the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; total safety of the employees.” She noted that a business should protect the permanent workers, contract workers, and visitors.

Amarasinghe strongly believes that there is a growing concern nationally and globally to sustain green jobs, economy, etc by making people aware of the uncertainties in a work place due to negligence of safety equipment.

She noted that in 1977 when the economic liberalisation policy was formed, it enabled many industries to open, it became a market for the investors to invest in Sri Lanka, there were many job opportunities, new technology and machinery introduced and this resulted in high rate of occupational hazards.

Pix by Upul Abayasekara