News from the EEO Trust

1 March 2007

Employee innovations pay healthy dividends for glass company

 

Injury and absenteeism rates are down and productivity is up at O-I New Zealand, an Auckland glass-packaging manufacturer with a commitment to worker-friendly, EEO-centred policies.

 

Since O-I New Zealand brought in training, education and health programmes, absenteeism and overtime hours worked at its Penrose factory have been reduced and there has been only one lost time injury in five years. The plant employs six women on the factory floor and its first glass technology apprentice was a woman who was recently promoted to a salaried technical role on completion of her apprenticeship. 

 

The plant consistently achieves the best performance of all O-I Asia Pacific region operations, as demonstrated by the weekly staff newsletter regularly showing the New Zealand plant ahead of its eight sibling operations in Australia, China and Indonesia. As Human Resources Manager Bruce Woodcock says, "For the last two to three years, this plant has whacked the living daylights out of every other plant."

 

How has the company done it - and why? Read More