46 | Affco - Wairoa REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Karen Phelps Staff engagement initiatives in focus Affco’s Wairo plant plays a big role in the community dn employs 650 staff in the peak season. Proudly supporting AFFCO Wairoa Give us a call and one of our experienced teammembers will be happy to chat about your project! 06 868 4400 | admin@alexhylandplumbing.co.nz Proudly supporting AFFCO Wairoa Arctic Coolstore Constrution is a family owned and operated business with over 35 years of experience in the industry. Though we are based in Hastings, Hawke's Bay, we have a huge client base throughout all of New Zealand. Our quality commercial cool rooms are best in Hawke's Bay and serve all kinds of business requirements. We work with di erent industries and cater to various requirements. YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR PRIORITY info@arcticconstruction.co.nz | 022 085 6517 | 2 Tumu Road, Hastings • Portable Freezers • Walk-in Chillers • Coolstores • Sleepouts & Portable Rooms to page 48 Mental health has been a hot topic in recent years and its prompted Affco to focus on making progress around culture and worker engagement initiatives, says Affco Wairoa regional manager Dean Burgess. “Historically health and safety has focused on preventing injuries. We are now changing that to also include overall wellbeing,” he says. For example recently Affco put a number of workers through some wananga teaching to assist the application of knowledge regarding ahuatanga Maori (Maori tradition) according to tikanga Maori (Maori custom) at a local marae in conjunction with WorkSafe. “It was based on te whare tapa wha; the four dimensions of Māori well being that include taha tinana (physical health), taha wairua (spiritual health), taha whānau (family health) and taha hinengaro (mental health). Full site presentations were undertaken to all employees at the Affco plant. “We’ve found it’s been really good to let people know we are conscious and aware of all of those things that affect people’s lives. It’s about recognising this and supporting people,” says Dean. “The uptake has been very good.” This has included Affco working with services within the community it can direct people to, for example Mates4Life, Women’s Refuge and Enabled Wairoa.
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