GCGL Launches Workplace HIV/AIDS Policy
The Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) has launched an HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy to guide the company on issues relating to HIV/AIDS.
The policy, among other things, provides a wide range of information on HIV/AIDS.
The policy was launched Wednesday at a staff durbar at the head office of the GCGL in Accra.
At the event, cash awards, certificates and citations were presented to hardworking and long-serving staff members.
Launching the HIV/AIDS Policy, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Dr Derek Aryee, said it was important for organisations to have HIV/AIDS policy to guide their operations.
That, he said, was because the effects of the disease included absenteeism, low productivity and loss of profit.
“HIV/AIDS has been of concern to all us and it is good to have a policy on it,” he said.
Dr Aryee expressed the hope that the policy would stand the test of time, having been thoroughly covered.
Answering a question on the disclosure of HIV/AIDS status, the resident doctor of the GCGL Clinic, Dr Henry Aidoo, assured staff of confidentiality not only on issues related to HIV/AIDS but other illnesses as well.
The Managing Director of Timeware Advanced Tracking Solutions, Mr S.B. Attakorah, educated staff members on the Time and Attendance System to be introduced by the GCGL.
The facility records or registers the time a member of staff enters and leaves the company during work days.
He said although everyone recognised time as important, adhering to it was a problem.
“We say time is money but we don’t pay enough attention to it,” he emphasised, adding that “one of the most important assets we need to protect is time”.
According to him, bad time management could collapse an organisation, hence the need to protect it.
He said all the parameters for those working at particular times were there, and that it was up to management to decide which areas to adopt.
Addressing the durbar, the Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Ken Ashigbey, reminded workers that the initiative was not a punishment system but a management system.
He called on all workers to put their hands to the wheel to enable the company to realise its vision of conquering West Africa.
He said the staff should work hard and smart to move the company forward, and that although there were challenges, the company was progressing.
Mr Ashigbey urged workers to be disciplined and tolerant, adding that there was the need for all to create and share.
He said management was discussing new ideas on how to propel the company to greater heights, and challenged the staff to come up with suggestions and ideas on how to move the GCGL forward.
Mr Ashigbey underscored the need to cut cost through the prudent management of the company’s resources, and stressed that energy conservation, for instance, was very important.
He announced plans to make G-Pak, a subsidiary of the GCGL, competitive with the procurement of two printing facilities next month.
Mr Ashigbey also mentioned the redesigning of the website, and indicated that the staff would be given email addresses with the domain name of the company.
He said the GCGL would be holding an open day in August, to enable members of the public to observe the operations of the company.
He called on staff members to take issues concerning their health very seriously, since their health was not only critical to their work but also their families.
The Chairman of the Local Union of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union, Mr Henry Addo, expressed the hope that the durbar would continue to provide the platform for staff and management to cross-fertilise ideas on how to improve the fortunes of the company.