All company sites awarded, proving their strength as safe places of work 

Unilever Sri Lanka proved their strength as a company which is dedicated to Occupational Health and Safety by emerging as the Excellence Award winners at the recently held National Safety and Occupational Health Excellence Awards 2014 at the BMICH on 20^th October 2014.  These awards were presented to Unilever Sri Lanka LTD at the above event, hosted under the patronage of National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) by Hon. Prime Minister Mr. DM Jayaratne and Labor & Labor relations minister Hon. Mr. Gamini Lokuge.  Awards were presented under 3 categories – Merit, Special Recognition Sector Awards and the Excellence Awards. Unilever Ceytea Agrapatana, was the proud recipient of the Excellence, Silver Award while Unilever Manufacturing Site Horana, received the Excellence, Bronze Award. Unilever Sri Lanka Head Office was awarded the ‘Other Sector Award, Large Scale – Winner’, for its commitment to Occupational health and safety. It was a remarkable achievement by Unilever Sri Lanka to secure the highest number of Excellence Awards at the event.

Speaking on this unprecedented achievement, Unilever Sri Lanka’s Chairperson Shazia Syed commented, “I am thrilled to see Unilever’s efforts in occupational health and safety recognized at this prestigious forum. At Unilever, we are committed to our employees as they are our most crucial and indispensable asset and we ensure all systems are in place to create a safe working environment to ensure their health and safety. We consider this as a non-negotiable within our business. Safe ways of working at Unilever are embedded into our DNA through all our actions starting from our Code of Business Principles, which outlines our individual and shared responsibilities for health and safety. We are very happy to have all three sites of Unilever including our manufacturing sites proving their worth as safe places of work, and we consider it as a testament to the absolute commitment to safety shown by each and every one of our employees. We are also deeply encouraged and humbled through this recognition and appreciation by NOISH toward our commitment and focus on this area of occupational health and safety” she added.

“This appreciation of our behavioral safety excellence, is a reflection of our passion for keeping each and every one of our valued employees safe. This journey of safety can only be successful if we have the commitment of our employees and can be achieved only through effective and consistent employee engagement.” said Vikum Jayawardana, Corporate Safety, Health & Environment Manager, Unilever Sri Lanka. “This is the real reason behind the success of all our safety endeavors - the culture of safety which is deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of our people.” he further added.

Unilever Sri Lanka has always pledged to provide a healthy and safe working environment to those who are both directly employed in the company, and for those who are indirectly engaged within the value chain. Apart from providing a safe environment conducive to supporting employees reach their personal and professional goals, the company has gone the extra mile to launch an Occupational Health Service, specially designed for all employees and their immediate families, to provide enhanced vitality which covers all aspects from clinical services and employee nutrition to emergency services.

The National Occupational Health and Safety Excellence Awards look to promote the importance of occupational safety and health amongst Sri Lankan organizations. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health was established in 2005, under the Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations Sri Lanka. NIOSH is committed to better working conditions for all people, through increasing awareness of and adherence to proper health and safety measures.

Photo caption: (Above) Vikum Jayawardane, Corporate Safety Manager and Kumudu De Silva, Safety, Health and Environment Manager – Customer Development and Head Office receiving the Special Recognition Award – Large Scale Category awarded to Unilever Sri Lanka Head Office from Hon. Gamini Lokuge, Minister for Labour and Labour Relations

[caption id="attachment_5973" align="alignnone" width="640"] Janaka Gammampila, Factory Manager - Horana receiving the Bronze Award in the Excellence Awards – Multinational Category awarded to Unilever Sri Lanka’s Horana factory from Hon. Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne while Anil Fernando, Senior Manufacturing Manager – Soaps, Irsula Rajakaruna, Factory Engineer - Horana Factory, Sanjeewa Devasurendra, Site Safety, Health and Environment Manager – Horana and W. P. U. Botheju, Electrical Charge Hand look on[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_5974" align="alignnone" width="640"] Priyankara Geekiyanage, Factory Manager – Ceytea Agrapathana receiving the Silver Award in the Excellence Awards – Multinational Category from Hon. Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne while Munish Nandwani, Director - Supply Chain, Buddhika Gunathilake, Site Safety, Health and Environment Manager- Agrapathana, L. W. P. Chandana, Production Operator, and Hemantha Lankaratne, HR Business Partner - Agrapathana Factory look on[/caption]