The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) Health and Safety Programme began in China in 2009, with an initial benchmark of health and safety competencies at 5 tea processing factories in Hunan Province.
In-depth interviews with managers and workers together with on-site safety inspections identified a number of common issues which became the foundation of the Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) training course, including:
- Electrical safety
- Fire prevention and evacuation procedures
- Heavy machinery safety
- Dust and noise pollution
- PPE (personal protective equipment) is supplied and used
ETP worked with Chinese health and safety experts from Business for Social Responsibility to develop a good practice manual and to roll-out the training.
Expanding the programme
In 2010 ETP expanded its OHS training into five new provinces. During this time, more than 70 management staff and key workers from factories in Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangxi have benefited from the training. The programme is continuing during 2011 to include more sites and has proved to be a positive way to engage with suppliers. The experience was neatly summed up by a workshop supervisor from one of participating factories:
“ETP’s approach to training is different from what we’ve previously experienced. Their sensible analysis of potential risks, together with practical solutions, has increased worker safety and led to improved efficiency at a time when we face labour shortages.”
