Training on Occupational Health and Safety for Management Staff from Fairtrade certified tea estates in Assam, India
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) has been one of the major issues in the tea estates in Assam, India. On review of the Fairtrade audits of the tea estates of Assam and Darjeeling across all companies, it was learned that approximately 50% of the non-compliances in the past several years has been marked only on Occupational Health and Safety. Study by independent agencies in recent times have captured workplace injury and partial disability due to accident at workplace. It also reported a case of casualty of management staff in 2017 in one of the non-Fairtrade certified estates. There has been mention of several cases by workers of workplace accident, resulting in disability and including casualty. Lack of literacy in the Tea estates on Occupation Health and Safety is one of the root causes.
Two Days Training on Occupational Health and Safety was conducted on 25th and 26th June 2018, at Guwahati, Assam, India for the management staffs from the Fairtrade certified tea estates of Assam. Sixteen (16) Management Staff from 9 Fairtrade certified tea estates participated in the training program. Interactive sessions facilitated by external expert covered session on sensitizing the management staffs on Occupational Health and Safety. The training’s objective was to build the basic concept of participants on ‘risk’ and ‘hazard’, enhancing their capacity to identify risk and hazard and evolve appropriate mitigation plan and education on the legal values on Occupational Health and Safety.
Various tools and technique were used to expose the participants to the learnings, e.g. documentary, animation, group work, practical exercise on risk assessment and plenary. Reading material distributed to the participants on Occupational health and safety.
Participants were overwhelmed to have participated in the training, few feedbacks expressed by the participants –
“The Training was brain- teaser, it exposed us to the need to focus on safety requirements in the Tea Estate”
“The Training was mind-boggling”
