'Healthy workforce enhances business productivity'

Speakers at a seminar on "World Day for Safety & Health at Workplace" said that healthy workforce enhances business productivity and benefits enterprises and national economies by reducing the number of accidents and diseases and lowering the number of insurance and compensation claims.
The seminar was organised by Employers Federation Pakistan (EFP) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at a local hotel on Monday. Shaukat Tareen, President, Saudi Pak Bank said that human capital is the most important asset for organisations. "A sense of safety and health gives a satisfaction to the employees and employees' satisfaction enhances productivity in the organisations.
Donglin Li, Country Directory, ILO said on this occasion that recent report shows that 2.2 million people die every year due to work-related accidents, more than 270 million workers are injured and an estimated 160 million suffer work-related illnesses. The report says this grim toll also costs the global economy an estimated 4 percent in lost GDP, equivalent to 20 times all official development aid put together.
"ILO believes that Decent Work Agenda including respect for fundamental principles and rights at work, its international labour standards, occupational safety and health mechanism, labour inspection, codes of practices on occupational safety and health at the workplace and social dialogue provide the basis for a strong workplace response to prevention of occupational accidents and disease", he mentioned.
Ashraf W Tabani, President EFP, Khawaja Muhammad Noman, Vice President, Sagheer Ahmed General Secretary and others also spoke on this occasion. Meanwhile, 3rd Annual EFP Award of Excellence for Best Practices in Occupational Safety and Health was given to the winners on this occasion.
Hinopak Motor won the trophy for the year while the shield winners were including Pakistan Refinery Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (Process Sector), Descon Engineering Limited (Engineering Sector), Agha Khan University & Hospital (Services Sector), GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited (Food & Pharmaceutical Sector) and AES Lalpir (Pvt) Limited (Miscellaneous Sector).