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A Helping Hand, Not Pink Slip
** Mr. Sunil Kumar
Financial Express
Corporates must realise that substance abuse is a disease and should
play a family to the addicted workers, say experts and NGOs
Some years back, Goa Shipping
Ltd (GSL) was plagued with the problem of alcohol abuse among its
employees. Irresponsible behaviour and absenteeism ruled the company.
The management faced a piquant situation: what to do with such employees.
Dismissing them meant loss of valuable personnel and was neither
in the interest of the company nor the employees. Retaining them,
on the other hand, made no sense for not only did they give poor
performance but had actually become a nuisance for the whole organisation.
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation faced a similar problem.
Only in this case, drunk drivers accounted for a large number of
fatal accidents. Alcoholism also invited violent behaviours from
the drivers and conductors. Again dismissing them, whose number
was large, and dealing with their union was no mean task. In each
case, the managements took the employees and their union into confidence,
evolved a substance abuse policy, which essentially included that
such workers will not be penalised and instead will be given care
and support in treatment, and tied up with NGOs and rehabilitation
centres for the purpose. The management of the two companies also
realised that the problem could not be countered fully unless it
involved the workers' family.
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Counselling
the family thus formed an integral part of the whole exercise.
The policy and the tie-up later matured into a full-fledged in-house
welfare centre or rehabilitation centre for employees on substance
abuse. While the number of companies facing such a problem is
many, examples of companies taking such initiatives are rare.
There are a few other companies, like Tisco, which have a substance
abuse policy. But for the rest, the rule is simple: take disciplinary
action and/or dismiss such employees. This, in fact, has only
aggravated the problem. The workers refuse to admit it. Substance
abuse is a major problem in India and affects people in their
most productive age groups. Apart from the addict and his family,
the other sufferers are industries and the corporates. The industry
realises the problem.
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| The
Factfile |
•
Up to 40 per cent of accidents at work involve
or is related to alcohol users
• Absenteeism is 2 to 3 times higher among
habitual substance users
• Of all accidents at work, 20-25 per cent
involved intoxicated workers
• Workers with drugs, alcohol dependence
claim 3 times as much sickness benefit
• 21.4 per cent of India’s population or
62.5 m take alcohol. Of this, 17 per cent of these
are dependent users
• Three per cent or 8.7 m take cannabis and
0.7 per cent or 2 m take opiates. Of these, up
to 25 per cent are dependent |
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| Says
FICCI president Amit Mitra, "It is no doubt that the industry
should be concerned about the menace. Multi stakeholder partnership
and joint efforts are required for prevention and control of this
problem.
It becomes essential on the part of the employers and trade unions
in their own interest to undertake drug abuse prevention programmes."
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| However,
industry's initiatives towards the cause have been very limited.
"Despite sensitisation efforts and support in the form of various
projects and incentives from the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, International Labour Organisation and United Nation
Office on Drug and Crime, corporates have not been very forthcoming,"
says Dr Zeenat, chairperson of Delhi-based NGO, Society for Promotion
of Youth and Masses. |
That
leaves the government and the NGOs to deal with the problem, which
they have been doing. But each has its own problems. The government
is ever-burdened with so many other problems and the NGO sector
is poor equipped with resources and skills. Both wish more cooperation
for the corporate sector. Two of the major problems faced are
that substance abuse is not treated as a disease but an individual’s
behaviour, and the misconception that it is a permanent problem.
“The fact is that it is a disease—a psychiatric problem.
It is a result of the failure on the part of individuals to cope
with work pressure or other problems. More importantly, like in
any other disease, here too treatment works,” says Sunil
Vatsyayan for Caring Foundation, an NGO. The experts feel that
industry must treat it as a disease. “They should assist
in treatment. They should let them avail medical leave and other
benefits for it,” says Dr Zeenat. “Corporates should
give the addicts a chance to get well. They should ensure such
employees that they will be taken back after recovery. They should
also realise that relapse is an inevitable part of recovery. Yet,
they should welcome and encourage them to come back to work,”
says Ashita Mittal, senior national programme officer, UNODC.
Apart from job security to the existing workforce, the other most
important expectation from the corporates is offering vocational
training and job to other ex-addicts.
|
| The
Wishlist |
•
Every company should have a substance abuse policy
• This should encourage and facilitate treatment
• It should emphasise on employees’
right to treatment and confidentiality
• Substance abuse should be treated as a
disease and medical leave and other benefits should
be
extended for it
• Those who could afford should have a rehab
centre or welfare centre
• Others should set up such facilities under
a common pool
• Should tie up with NGOs and such centres
for counselling and other needs
• Should help NGOs develop their resources
and train their staff
• Should be more vocal on the issue and put
pressure on the government for prevention measures
• Employees’ family welfare should also
be a part of the company policy; they should be
included in abuse prevention programme
• Most importantly, prevention should be
the aim and encouraged
• Should facilitate a suitable work environment
so that their workforce do not take to evil habits |
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“Job is a big struggle. In fact, unemployment has sometimes
led to the problem. If industry can extend a helping hand, it will
go a long way in curbing the problem,” says Anjlee Kohli from
the NGO Sahara. However, she insists that they should not be given
special jobs or be segregated from other workers. “That will
have poor impact on the psyche of an individual and add to his stigma,”
she adds. The corporates also owe a lot as part of their social
responsibility. “They need to support and help build the infrastructure
for the purpose. NGOs can be the service provider, but the corporates
must assist the NGOs build their resources,” says Vatsyayan.
Creating awareness is the other area where the corporates are expected
to pitch in. They can play a big role in countering the idea: Once
a drug user always a drug user. And yes, they should ensure an enabling
environment for the workforce to cope with work pressure.. |
Against
this background the RRTCs are envisaged to play the role of the
representatives of the region allocated to them from time to time.
It is therefore incumbent upon the RRTCs to conduct and perform
in a manner that they are perceived as a democratic representative
of the region, a facilitator for the NGOs in bringing out their
best and articulating the needs of the community/NGOs. The RRTCs,
must therefore, honestly assess the strength and deficiencies
of their region (including their own organisation) through field
visits, strengthen the weak ones and provide help in weeding out
the non-performers. While planning activities for the region and
in conducting training programmes it has be ensured that the resources
and the experts of the entire region is utilised which presupposes
the identification of the strengths available in other NGOs/agencies
in the region. The Ministry, from time to time, has been sending
appropriate directions to the RRTCs as well as the NGOs to ensure
this objective.
This
is a great responsibility and a great challenge. The RRTCs can,
at best consider them as first amongst the equals and any big brother
attitude on their part would only boomerang to spoil their own credibility
in the field. The RRTCs, should in time to come, strive towards
detaching and distancing themselves from their identity of their
parent organisation. The RRTCs are the resource of the region and
therefore, the infrastructure created and the expertise being developed
with the support of the Government and other agencies, belong to
the region and not the NGO managing it. |
| The
Ministry has undertaken a bold initiative, first of its kind, to
take the programme to the community, and, it now depends upon the
RRTCS and the NGOs, how best they utilise this opportunity of remote
controlling the interventions of the Government, by submerging,
at least for the time being, their institutional and individual
vanities for the sake of the society. Otherwise we, all collectively,
would be responsible in history, for betraying the trust of the
community and frittering away the scarce financial resources.
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