PDF (Lessons learned in drug abuse prevention: a global review)

LOCAL
Lessons Learned:
● Crucial to the programme’s success is the support of all principal industry
stakeholders - employers, the unions and the workers themselves: Each group
has different ideological, political and ethical needs and wants. Effectively accommodating
the needs of all 3 groups without compromising the primary aims and objectives
of the programme has been a major task in maintaining overall industry support.
● Satisfying the needs of the employers and union stakeholders: By addressing
drug and alcohol issues from a safety perspective, the programme was seen as pursuing
the union agenda of a maintaining a safe workplace and improving the well being of
their members. In addition, the programme's ability to resolve drug- and alcohol-related
incidents without industrial disputes also satisfied the objectives and agendas of the
employers and major employer groups. The programme functions without affecting
the overall concern for continuous productivity of the employers.
● The programme's credibility in the industry made a significant contribution
to its achievements: Its credibility comes from the programme remaining focused on
its primary purpose, and refusing to be hijacked by the industrial, political or ideological
concerns of any particular group or individuals.
● Being seen as coming from ‘inside’ the industry and sharing its values, structures
and culture heightens acceptability: The programme's acceptance by workers
was partly due its grassroots approach, and partly to its ability to develop policies that
met their needs around specific issues. An example of this was the development of
Guidelines for the Responsible Serving of Alcohol at Company Functions. Rather than
condemning the practice of company functions (site barbecues etc.), the guidelines
provided information on how to hold these functions in a safe and appropriate manner.
● Meeting the needs of the target group through offering practical solutions
to specific problems: Addressing unsafe practices in the workplace related to alcohol
and drug abuse is the principle aim of the programme. By focussing purely on safety
in the workplace in the initial instance, and not on personal behaviour outside the
workplace, the programme positioned itself to provide awareness and education
around safety in the workplace and the availability of referral options. This strategy
gained the trust of workers who then felt comfortable raising issues concerning the
personal problems of themselves or their families. They realised that the programme
was focused on their welfare.
● Peer-based interventions are more effective and reduce the potential for
industrial problems or personal tensions: Conventional education approaches are
not as effective as peer-based interventions where workers take responsibility for their
own safety and that of their fellow workers. This programme is implemented by peers
rather than by management personnel. Workers know that the programme takes into
account their individual needs around safe work practices, as well as their needs for
access to appropriate and effective treatment options where necessary. Interventions
around unsafe work practices due to drugs or alcohol were carried out by peers, with
key safety personnel undertaking training to remove unsafe workers from the workplace.
This strategy was vital in promoting industrial harmony and avoiding industrial
disputes.
● Involving the target group in the development and implementation of the
programme, as well as in the development and distribution of educational
materials: This resulted in the materials being designed to reflect the culture,
language, needs and wants of the industry. Having been developed by the target
group, resources were easily understood and accepted.
“A safe job is a good job.”
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