The minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, Shakeel Mohamed encouraged all industries to organise health screenings at least once a year to detect any form of disease that could hinder the productivity of employees.
The labour minister was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Health Screening Programme organised by the Export Processing Zone Labour Welfare Fund (EPZLWF) at Princes Tuna, Riche Terre on Thursday.
Also present at the event were minister of Heath and Quality of Life Lormus Bundhoo and general manager of the EPZLWF, Jean Daniel Agustee.
“A healthy employee is a happy employee and would be a good example of return on investment. This will ensure the company remains competitive through productivity of employees and guarantee employment,” said Mohamed.
He added that the programme will be expanded to the national level to allow some 50,000 employees of the EPZ to benefit from it.
Bundhoo said that non-communicable diseases (NCD) have reached alarming levels and such initiatives are important to curb the rate of diabetes that affects 23 per cent of the population aged between 22 and 70 years.
“It is frightening that during each screening exercise 5 per cent new patients find they have NCD,” said Bundhoo.
Meanwhile, the president of the Artisans and General Workers Union, Lall Dewnath urged companies to become more proactive.
He also thanked Princes Tuna for providing compensation above the government rate in 2009 and 2010.
The programme was focused on eye disorders, obesity and breast cancer. Some 3,500 employees of Princes Tuna benefited from the screening.