16 Oct 2019

 Majwe Mining Joint Venture, on Monday, launched an initiative dubbed Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).

The programme would seek to help employees on various challenges such as financial, physical mental and legal among others .

Speaking at the launch of the initiative, the company’s management indicated that they were committed to zero harm in pursuit of a Cut 9 project and that could only be achieved if their employees were mentally and physically fit.

They said it was therefore important that they helped their employees to be in shape all the time.

One of the speakers, Mr Caster Mothibedi, Majwe deputy project manager, said  they believed that energy put into work started with a healthy mindset.

“Mind is one of the most vital components towards averting accidents and it is good that as a company we should ensure that our employees are emotionally taken care of,” he said.

He also assured the employees that the programme, which encompassed professional counselling, was not meant to expose them, therefore they should feel free to consult the professions engaged for help.

He said Majwe’s future depended on the productivity of its employees, so it was only vital to take care of them in return.

The welfare coordinator, Mr Geoffrey Tshoganetso, said tension between an employee and their employer could not be avoided, so it was vital that employees were given a platform to release that pressure or risk crashing.

“It’s our hope that opening up about one’s challenges will help them release that pressure and help them cope, which will improve working relations,” he said.

For his part, the human resource manager for Itemogelo Counselling and Consultants, which has been engaged to provide the counselling services under the programme, Mr Mothusi Ntobedzi said the programme would have a lot of benefits for both

Majwe and its employees saying it would help them deal with trauma both at work and home.

He said that failure to deal with trauma at an early stage would otherwise have an impact on productivity.

Mr Ntobedzi also assured the employees that their counselling sessions would be treated with the utmost confidentiality to the extent that they would even be flexible to arrange counseling session outside of the camp if an employee so requires.

He also advised the employees to consult them well in time and not wait until problems weight then down.

He said that experience indicates that complacency often creeps in at the peak of success, and urged Majwe employees to be on the guard for complacency on accident mitigation, especially just after the successful delivery of Cut 8 project.

The Majwe communications manager, Mr Archibald Ngakayagae said the EAP was part of the company’s strategy in promoting safety at work, and that it was important that they do not bask in the success of Cut 8, but introduce other safety measures to ensure that Cut 9 becomes equally a success.

He said the initiative was meant to benefit employees as individuals, and the company as a whole.

Mr Ngakayagae also implored the employees to always make sure they check on the well-being of their colleagues and refer those who are still reluctant for counselling sessions. ENDS