Well Being
 |
Overview
At Rio Tinto Alcan, occupational health and safety ranks alongside environmental performance as the most fundamental of corporate objectives, and all operations continually strive to conduct business without harm to people.
Safety outcomes are influenced not only by physical work site conditions, but by procedural and attitudinal considerations. Dialogue and collective responsibility are therefore fostered, prevention focused on, and people at all levels of the organization equipped to discharge their safety-related responsibilities.
Healthy workplaces are also ones where employees find support for positive lifestyle choices and for personal and family well-being, where medical restrictions are accommodated, and where human rights are fully respected.
Strategies and Initiatives
OHS Performance: While the key safety-related achievement of 2006 – reaching an unprecedented three million-plus hours without a lost-time accident (LTA) – was not repeated, performance was nevertheless generally strong during 2007.
The accident frequency and severity rates were higher in 2007 than in 2006, but performance remained better than during any of the preceding years within the past decade. And the recordable case rate – a more inclusive measure encompassing LTAs and less serious incidents – was at less than two-thirds the level of 2006.
OHS Initiatives: Safety improvement was pursued mainly through continued leadership-in-action tours, and responses to corporate-wide calls-to-action on specific safety risks.
Leadership-in-action involves plant-floor tours five days a week at defined times. Superintendents and supervisors participate and are sometimes accompanied by health, safety, and environment professionals.
During 2007, previous calls-to-action continued to be addressed, including one relating to hazardous energy control, as well as a new one relating to working at heights. Employee dialogue is an important part of this process, and more than 200 individuals provided input on risk reduction in these particular areas during 2007.
More structure and consistency were applied to the pursuit of safety. This included developing protocols relating to major risks and/or specific tasks. They provide a basis for more rigorous observation, in contexts such as leadership-in-action tours, and for both positive reinforcement and identification of improvement opportunities.
A new database was developed which makes protocols, and information regarding compliance with them, available operation-wide, thus supporting best-practices sharing.
Facilities, Programs, Studies: Various facilities, programs and other initiatives were maintained, which further and more broadly advance employee well being. They include:
- an on-site occupational health clinic and rehab and fitness centre;
- fitness program subsidies for employees, retirees and dependents;
- on-site flu vaccinations;
- counseling and other assistance to stop tobacco use;
- bladder cancer screening for employees and retirees;
- an employee and family assistance program; and
- pre-retirement sessions focusing on lifestyle adjustment and other aspects of post-career well-being.
Employees with medical restrictions – with either industrial or non-industrial causes – can access a joint (union-management) return-to-work program. A total of 41,159 hours of accommodated placement was provided for 149 employees in 2007.
Human Rights: A joint Human Rights Policy formalizes Rio Tinto Alcan Primary Metal BC’s commitment to providing workplaces that are free of both discriminatory treatment (on such prohibited grounds as race or gender) and personal harassment.
A major human rights-related training initiative was undertaken during 2007. The day-long seminars were developed with input from a joint human rights committee and focused on respectful workplace conduct, and on complaint procedures and options for resolution. Approximately 1,000 employees attended these sessions during 2007, which continued to be offered during 2008.
The joint human rights policy was revised during 2007 to clarify roles when complaints are made, and to better facilitate alternative dispute resolution such as mediation.
