The Finance Ministry's recently set-up Wellbeing Unit organised its first event to create awareness on occupational health and safety amongst the staff. The Unit, which forms part of the Ministry’s Corporate Services Directorate, has over the past weeks offered employees courses on first aid, fire emergencies, and office ergonomics.

Addressing the event, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said “It’s not only employees and their families who stand to benefit when employees adopt a healthier lifestyle, but the workplace too,” the Minister said. “Healthier employees use less sick leave, go through less unnecessary stress at work, and have a more positive outlook that enables them to see solvable challenges rather than insuperable problems.” Edward Scicluna said that first aid and firefighting training should be provided at the workplace, so that employees are aware of what they should – and should not – do in case of emergencies.

The health and safety event included information stands, inter alia, about healthy nutrition and fire emergencies. Furthermore, an anti-smoking campaign was launched and an in-house anti-smoking course will be organised in due course. Nurses were available for staff members to check out their blood glucose level and pressure, and body mass index. Representatives of the Employee Support Programme Unit were there to talk to employees about mental and emotional health problems, family difficulties, disability, bereavement, addictions, harassment and work-related stress.

Employees, who were encouraged to dress down for this event, prepared healthy food and collected donations for Id-Dar tal-Providenza. The event was organised in collaboration with the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate, the Primary Health Care Department, and the Civil Protection Department.