Arawak Cement Observes WED

In observance of World Environment Day (WED) 2009, the surroundings of the Arawak Cement plant were made much greener as the company planted one hundred (100) trees around the outer fence of the plant, with the assistance of the 2009 St. Lucy Parish Ambassadors.

Rupert Greene – General Manager (Ag.) of Arawak Cement noted that the activity formed part of the company’s drive to be a more environmentally conscious operation and is in keeping with the green approach adopted by the company. “We are fully aware of the importance of environmental protection and enhancement activities such as this and remain committed to playing our part in ensuring that the environment in which we work and share with the members of the surrounding community is kept in the best possible condition for the benefit of all,” Greene said.

(L-R) Rupert Greene – General Manager (Ag.), Arawak Cement, Simone Strickland – one of St. Lucy’s Parish Ambassadors and Janice Springer – Industrial Nurse, Arawak Cement prepare to plant a tree.

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Arawak Cement Remains Committed to Seniors

Celebrations for Senior Citizens month took centre stage in Barbados in September 2008 with various activities being hosted across the island to highlight the contribution of its elders including a Church Service, Karaoke Nights, Open Days and culminated with the popular St. Lucy District Hospital Senior Citizen Games, which was sponsored by Arawak Cement for the fourth consecutive year.

The Sports Day, one of the most anticipated events of the celebrations, saw seniors from various institutions including the St. Lucy District Hospital, Gordon Cummings District Hospital, the Geriatric Hospital, the Psychiatric Hospital and the Elaine Scantlebury Centre, converge on the St. Lucy District Hospital grounds for a day of fun, frolic and friendly rivalry.

The seniors competed in various events including the 50 and 100 meters, wheel barrow, three legged, walk, water/cup and sack races among others.  When the dust settled, the Psychiatric Hospital proved to have the better athletes who emerged the overall winners of the meet.

Rupert Greene, General Manager (Ag.) of Arawak Cement, expressed the company’s satisfaction in being able to support the event noting that it is a special treat for the seniors and community alike.

“The event proves to be a good way for the seniors to relax and socialize in a friendly environment with each other.  When we see the delight and enjoyment they get from this event, it gives us even more pleasure to lend our assistance and pledge our continued commitment and support to these Games,” Greene said.

Some of the participants vying for a place in the Water/Cup race during the games.

Rupert Greene, General Manager (Ag.) of Arawak Cement, in light discussion with Hon. Dennis Kellman, Caricom Ambassador and Member of Parliament for St. Lucy as they enjoy the events at the St. Lucy District Hospital Senior Citizen Games recently.

Members of the Psychiatric Hospital team collecting the Winners’ Shield from Wilma Gibson, Corporate Communications Officer, Arawak Cement.

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Arawak Cement Company Joins HIV/AIDS Drive

HIV/AIDS is no longer a private issue; it is very much a workplace issue since it affects productivity.  As a result the workplace has a vital role to play in the wider struggles to limit the spread through education.  HIV and AIDS threaten the livelihoods of the employees, their dependents and by extension the communities and enterprises while weakening national economies. Nine out of every ten adults with HIV or AIDS are in their productive and reproductive prime.  At least 26 million are workers aged 15-49, in the prime of their working lives.  Discrimination and stigmatization against women and men with HIV threaten the fundamental principles and rights to work and undermine efforts for successful prevention and care. 

The effects of HIV/AIDS are felt by enterprises as well as workers and families.  This pandemic strikes hard at the most vulnerable groups in society including the poorest, women and children.  Of the 1.2 billion young women and men who will enter the labour force over the next decade, many will be affected by HIV and AIDS directly and indirectly (UNDP- AIDS in the workplace)

The Impact of HIV and AIDS on the workplace:

• Increase expenditure in areas such as health care, funerals, training, and recruitment, replacement of employees, disability and job accommodations.
• Labour turnover leading to a less experienced and less productive workforce that often results in a mismatch in human resources and labour requirements in terms of qualifications, training and experience.
• A loss of markets as the purchasing power of the population declines.
  Specific skills being available in limited supply and that shortage translating into high cost of hiring.
• Importation of labour from other countries, at the risk of creating a bigger immigrant sub-population, which may create an even greater vulnerability among the existing population to the HIV infection.
• Low employee morale.
• Confidentiality and  discrimination concerns.

The workplace therefore is one of the most effective settings for responding to the epidemic since:

• Communications systems are already in place for spreading information.
• Existing structures and facilities can be used for prevention, care and support services.
• The workplace allows itself to reaching millions of people, who might otherwise be out of reach.
• Workplaces can be seen as communities where people can come together to discuss and debate issues and learn from one another.
• Early investments in the HIV education have long-term benefits.

Arawak’s contribution to fighting HIV/AIDS at the enterprise level?
Following are some key measures with specific reference to the workplace programme at Arawak Cement Company Limited which is one of the participating enterprises in the Barbados /ILO ILO/USDOL HIV Behaviour Change Communication Workplace Education Programme. These measures are currently being documented as good practices.

Programmes can be employee driven as opposed to management driven: This   can overcome the challenges in a busy production environment where the management team has to be responsible for initiating all of the company’s programmes, as is effectively being done at the Arawak. Arawak’s ILO/USDOL HIV Behaviour Change Communication Workplace Education Programme commenced in 2005 as an employee led initiative. This kind of initiative serves as a beacon to demonstrate to staff that the Company is articulating its mission, goals, principles and value statement of a deep commitment to health, safety and the environment.

Communication of well defined, well understood and consistently applied HIV and AIDS policies and practices:   The TCL Group HIV and other Life Threatening Illness Policy (2001) was revised to include all ten key components as detailed by the International Labour Organisation.  The policy was discussed with and distributed to all employees at Arawak Cement. In addition to the redistribution of the policy and to demonstrate management’s stated objectives not to discriminate against any employee as a result of his real or perceived HIV status, a skit was performed. “Actors” included some peers and some management representatives.  New employees on joining the organization are also given copies of the policy.  In addition the policy is displayed on the HIV related information notice board.

The use of peer educators as an important component of effective HIV and AIDS education programs : Peers, by definition, are similar in age, background, experience and interests, and people are more likely to listen and follow advice from peers. Seven Arawak employees were selected and trained through the ILO programme to become peer educators and subsequently deployed within the workforce according to their skills for the careful execution of the programme

Provision of on-going, updated formal and informal education for all staff through HIV and AIDS educational materials and messages: Information may be communicated in a variety of formats: formal lectures, work group training sessions, videotape presentations, posters, brochures, pamphlets, popular theater (skits) and the internal intranet. These modalities are employed at Arawak in order to tap into the organizational culture to have the maximum impact of the programme within the organization to promote HIV and AIDS awareness. The use of popular theatre and interactive sessions at Arawak provokes discussion and interest well after the presentation has ended. Such interactive sessions also serve to address emotional issues that cannot be explored in the classroom based presentation.

Access to contraception on a consistent basis: Condom accessibility is integral to any programme as behaviour change. This concept was successfully tested at Arawak with the implementation of a “Condom Distribution Drive” to celebrate World AIDS Day 2005. Subsequently condoms are now available for one-on-one distribution. This initiative is being seen as a positive for workplace programmes as is evident in the increased number and cross section of employees openly accessing this service.

Access to Voluntary HIV Testing with Counseling for employees and families:   An integral part of any workplace programme is the importance of employees knowing their status and to promote this philosophy, onsite voluntary counselling and testing have been conducted by personnel external to the company since 2005. These on site activities were actually requested by some employees who were seeking to know their status. 

Care and Support for Persons Living with HIV: Care and support is a very vital component of any workplace programme. The peer educators’ team and some other members of staff at the Arawak through financial and other contributions support a young person living with HIV. 

Linking of HIV and AIDS to any existing workplace wellness policy and programmes: There is a fear among health care planners and other personnel that linking HIV and AIDS with other chronic illnesses could trivialize the concern that companies have towards HIV. On the other hand, including HIV with general wellness programmes tends to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with the illness, making it more attractive to all employees. At Arawak, it has been demonstrated that with careful and equal prioritization of HIV and AIDS, the programme can acquire the same level of attention as other chronic illnesses.  This approach has lead to increased interest in reproductive health issues and a demand for counselling on sexually transmitted illnesses by employees.  Merging the porgramme into the existing wellness programme has also presented the opportunity to link and explore issues that are otherwise challenging to broach due to cultural norms, such as alcohol and substance abuse.

Businesses cannot escape from society and society cannot exist without business. (Davis1980).  Arawak Cement understands that it has the greatest opportunity to protect its employees and their families against the spread of the pandemic. Research has proven where HIV workplace programmes exist there is greater awareness of HIV and AIDS behaviours and greater likelihood of behaviour change that would lead to an overall decline in HIV transmission. Arawak Cement remains committed to ensuring the welfare of its employees and will take the necessary steps to improve their quality of life.

Skit by Arawak peer educators on the negative effects of multi- partnering

Arawak’s Notice Board consisting of several HIV/AIDS Articles