Ansa group takes lead in promoting vaccination against covid19

The priority of the Ansa McAl Group of Companies Ltd during this pandemic has been the safety of its employees.

To ensure this, the group human resources; health, safety and environment; and leadership teams have worked together to educate and vaccinate employees, as well as to have strict workplace protocols.

Chief human resources officer, Amy Lazzari told Business Day the group does not believe in mandatory vaccination so its approach is to sensitise the staff and to make the vaccines easily available.

So far, the result has been a 77 per cent vaccination rate across the group in the region, and
an 82 per cent rate in Trinidad and Tobago.

“In the beginning when vaccines weren’t as widely available we worked very actively with some of our local employer groups like TTMA (Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association) and the Chamber (of Industry and Commerce) to get vaccines in the right manner and to co-host vaccination drives, registering our employees to go.”

When vaccines became more widely available, Ansa hosted many vaccination sites and gave employees a day off as well as transport to get vaccinated.

The group also hosted education sessions with doctors, Ministry of Health officials, led leadership and counselling sessions, and had one-on-one conversations with those who needed further assurance, advice, or questions answered. It also created a series of videos featuring staff members giving their testimonials, union representatives, and medical professionals, some for public consumption on traditional media, on the group’s social media page, and some for use in-house.

These include A Small Dose of Hope Can Bring Us Together, Pandemic Portraits produced in collaboration with CNC3, and Let’s Give Ourselves a Fighting Chance.

Lazzari said, “We didn’t want to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. They had lots of questions. There are pros and cons to taking the vaccine, so we were very real in our approach, with science and doctors and medical professionals being made available.”

There was also Take Your Life Back, a nationwide promotion in which people could submit a picture of themselves with their vaccination cards for a chance to win a kitchen makeover courtesy Standard Distributors Ltd.

Group health, safety and environment manager Nixon Gangoo added that each company in the group hosted one-on-one sessions and companies that had slow vaccine uptake offered incentives.

He said there were flyers giving information on noticeboards and through electronic means on reasons to get vaccinated, answers to frequently asked questions, company covid19 protocols, and information on the possible medical outcomes if vaccines were not taken.

There is zero tolerance on mask-wearing, sanitisation, social distancing, staying home if ill or if an employee is a primary contact of someone with covid19. They also try to hold meetings online as much as possible, have temperature checks at the doors, and have several sanitising points around the offices.

Giving further detail, Natasha Ramnath, group corporate communications lead, explained some of Ansa’s workplace protocols.

There is mandatory screening, in which employees must compete a declaration form before entry. The form captures travel history, general health, and temperature. High-touch surfaces, including employee workstations, are sanitised frequently throughout the day by the janitorial staff, and unvaccinated employees have to be double-masked.

“We educate and communicate the workplace HSE covid19 protocols effectively through various media. And the use of influencers promoted authenticity in the campaigns and assisted us to reach specific target audiences on various social media platforms, including TiKToK.”

Lazzari added, “We have almost no cases of cross-contamination, meaning, 'I have given it to my co-worker,' because our protocols are so well implemented and adhered to in the office. We feel very proud that those who can’t work remotely are at work in a safe environment.”

She said the group’s messaging has not been one of coercion or restriction. And the only staff adjustment that had to be made was in the case of one employee who worked at a safe zone but did not want to be vaccinated. That person had to be moved to another position.

If an individual chooses to be unvaccinated, there are additional safety restrictions to ensure they remain safe at work.

She added that the group treats with those not adhering to protocols very quickly, but said there were not many instances of this.

Gangoo explained that individual companies do daily audits specific to covid19 looking at people obeying the protocols. He gets a weekly audit report which notes any breaches.

“We have a ticketing system if people are not in compliance: they issue these tickets. It’s showing that we’ve had this discussion with you. So should we need to escalate it to becoming an IR (industrial relations) matter, we would know how many breaches an individual would have made.”

Led by group CEO Anthony Sabga III, the group also engaged with various unions very early, establishing communications, getting the unions' input on protocols, and getting support from them.

“We are willing to do anything we can to support our country to get to a better place. Certainly, we have a long ways to go. Hopefully we can be an example and lead the way,” said Lazzari.