Johannesburg, 7 April 2019 – Employees are one of the most crucial investments businesses make. Without employees, businesses – particularly in the labour-intense metals and engineering sector – would cease to exist. It is against this backdrop that companies should continuously invest in ensuring that the environment in which employees operate is safe, so says Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) Chief Executive Officer Kaizer Nyatsumba.
“Employers have an obligation towards their employees to ensure that not a single life is lost at the workplace, regardless of how hazardous the work environment is. In fact, the more hazardous the environment, the more caution employers need to exercise to ensure the safety of their workers. The injury or loss of even one life at a plant or at a site is one life too many and companies need to go out of their way to ensure that not a single life is lost at work,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
It is against this backdrop, among others, that SEIFSA established the SEIFSA Awards for Excellence to encourage and celebrate companies which take the health and safety of their employees seriously.
To celebrate companies that go out of their way to invest in the health and safety of their employees, SEIFSA will present the Health and Safety Award of the Year to a company with the best legal compliance record in Health and Safety or the lowest Lost-Time Injury Frequency rate between July 2017 and December 2018.
Last year, the Health and Safety Award was won by Babcock. The Judges in this category said at the time: “Babcock not only completed a 1.5 million manhour project without any serious injuries, but it also displayed astounding support for both employees and management through comprehensive training and meticulous risk management.”
This year, winning companies will, once again, be celebrated during an annual gala dinner to be held on 23 May 2019 at the IDC Conference Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg. Entries for the Awards close on 26 April 2019 for all categories.
Along with the Health and Safety Award of the Year, the SEIFSA Awards for Excellence have six other categories.
- The Most Innovative Company of the Year, which will be awarded to a company that showed the best level of innovation in research and development or production between July 2017 and December 2018;
- The company rated the highest in customer service performance between July 2017 and December 2018 will receive the Customer Service Award of the Year; and
- The Environmental Stewardship Award will go to a company that has successfully implemented greening initiatives in its day-to-day business operations between July 2017 and December 2018.
- This is the Decade of the Artisan, and an award will be made to the company that trained the highest number of artisans between July 2017 and December 2018;
- The Best CSI Award will be presented to a company whose corporate social investment programme/s between July 2017 and December 2018 had a major impact on the lives of its beneficiaries.
- The Most Transformed Company of the Year Award will be received by a company that showed the highest transformation level in its ownership and the composition of its Board of Directors, Executive Management and Managerial Team between July 2017 and December 2018 (this award category pits companies employing fewer than 100 people against those of similar size, and companies employing more than 100 people against others of similar size);
Issued by:
Ollie Madlala
Communications Manager
Tel: (011) 298 9411 / 082 602 1725
Email: ollie@seifsa.co.za
Web: www.seifsa.co.za