Health & Safety

Occupational Health

The function of WINDALCO’s Medical Department is depicted in its Vision Statement - “To promote and maintain employee fitness and well-being”.

The Department aims to assist the Company achieve the goals of maximum productivity at acceptable costs by ensuring that healthy employees work in safe conditions. This is achieved by:

Proper physical and psychological assessment of employees
Proper job placement of employees
Proper management of ill or injured employees
Proper preventive health measures

The Department has internal linkages with several other areas including safety, environment, community relations, legal and lands and agriculture.

External linkages include the National Safety Council, the American Public Health Association, The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, The Medical Associations of Jamaica, the Universities of Jamaica (and some overseas), the Ministries of Health and Labor, hospitals and laboratories.

All job applicants undergo a pre-employment medical and employees undergo a periodic medical examination; these include physical examinations, blood tests, x-rays as necessary and special tests (e.g. vision, hearing (audiograms) and lung function (spirograms)).

All illness or injuries, however slight, caused or suspected to be caused by the work environment must be reported to the Clinic at the particular location, for assessment, recording, treatment and referral as necessary. The Nurses also provide counseling and health education for employees.

The Clinics (Industrial Health Centres) exist primarily for the management of occupational injuries and illnesses and the emergency treatment of acute non-occupational illnesses.

Employees recovering from illness or injury which has kept them off work may return to work before “total healing” under our “Disability Management” program, provided they are well enough to do so, will not constitute any hazard to themselves or others and can do the work to which they may be reassigned.

Employees are made aware of the potential hazards to which they may be exposed and how to handle them. They are also made aware of the right to refuse to work under conditions which are demonstrably unsafe- under our “Hazard Communication Programme”.

The Department extends its interest in health beyond the boundaries of the workplace e.g. by offering medical treatment to sick members of the community as may be necessary from time to time, by helping to assess/respond to community complaints about adverse health effects of the plants’ operations and advising employees about safety and health in the home.

Health promotion measures include special talks, periodic articles (e.g. in the The Conveyor), occasional bulletins and distribution of relevant literature and on health and related matters.