GCC Farms Internationally Recognized for Safe and Healthy Work Conditions
In December, the International Labor Organization (ILO) recognized GCC's farm operator, Agrosura, for its outstanding progress towards creating a safe and healthy work environment for all of its employees.
Through ILO's SCORE program, our team identified key areas for improvement in the workplace. Establishing standardized health and safety practices as well as internal communication protocols was the focus. This is groundbreaking work for the Colombian coffee sector, where long established norms typically shrug aside concerns for worker safety and well-being.
Part of GCC's mission is to generate sustainable value for all stakeholders, and this includes our community in Salgar, where our team and operation reside. The ILO's mission is to promote social justice through the creation of decent work environments for all. Naturally, our Human Resources team envisioned this partnership as a way to verify our efforts towards producing coffee responsibly and respectfully.
With the help of SCORE's trainer, Oscar Andres Cardona, Agrosura developed a five part plan to create lasting changes for the work environment of all of its team members. The specific areas for improvement were: modifying internal communication channels, requiring health and safety training for all employees, providing coffee harvesting best-practices training to all collectors, implementing the 5S organization method for all workspaces, and lastly, exceeding SCORE's minimum healthy and safety standards established by the ILO.
By complying in all five areas, Agrosura and GCC established itself as one of the first coffee producers to adhere to internationally recognized standards for providing decent work to all men and women. We are proud to see our progress recognized and are eager to continue building towards a better community for all in 2022.