India Inc observes World Safety Day with special initiatives

NEW DELHI: Corporates are taking up various initiatives related to safety and wellness to mark World Safety Day on Tuesday.

To foster a safe work environment, Vodafone India, through its health safety and wellness (HSW) programme, is reminding its employees on primarily electrical safety, height work and road safety.

“We are committed to achieving the highest standards in HSW, aiming to provide and maintain a safe and healthy working environment for employees, associates, customers, partners, contractors, etc,” said a Vodafone spokesperson.

On Wednesday, a day after World Safety Day, global healthcare company Abbott is undertaking a nationwide awareness road safety drive across clinics and hospitals around the country.

Through this drive, called ‘Police Yourself’, Abbott is aiming at calling about 80,000 doctors and through them reaching out to about 8 lakh people. “Through this drive, we aim to sensitise people on the leading causes of road accidents and call upon them to pledge their commitment towards safe driving by following easy, actionable steps,” said Abbott India regional HR director, Ajay Bhatt.

Abbott’s field force will spend the entire day to promote awareness on road safety. The company’s all-field sales employees, through an internal training programme, are trained in two-wheeler safety and defensive driving. “This knowledge that resides with them will be effectively leveraged to spread awareness about road safety,” said Bhatt.

ZS, a US-based global sales and marketing consultancy firm with over 2,400 employees in India, is rewarding employees who successfully follow a fitness and wellness regime. The company had recently launched the ‘Wellness for Impact’ programme to ensure holistic and sustainable wellness for its employees. Under this programme, participants set their own personalised fitness goal and worked towards this.

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work. It has been observed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) since 2003. According to the ILO website, every year, some two million men and women lose their lives through accidents and diseases linked to work.