“We need to find solutions for the number of immigrant workers who fear reporting injuries in the workplace…”
That was the call to action by a second-generation Romanian guy at an event I attended recently; about young people were gathered (with a combined background of some 40 countries and 50 dialects).
This young man was actually thinking of his own immigrant parents - both of whom work in manufacturing - when he made that comment.
The other young people in the crowd quickly agreed with his observation - that business owners and supervisors are ignoring the issue of under-reporting by immigrant workers!
Immigrant workers often under-report accidents or occupational illness because
- they don’t feel confident in their English language skills
- they’re afraid of losing their jobs
- they’re afraid of losing their immigration status
- they’re afraid of inadequate healthcare coverage
- they want to reap the benefits of their company’s incentive program rewarding low rates of accidents
As an employer, you can move away from a fear-based workforce for your immigrant workers, without spending much money, by
- exchange cultural knowledge in an employee’s first 90 days on the job
- recognize “cultural champions” in the workplace who liaise between new hires and their supervisor to facilitate communication
- reward the best written suggestion each quarter for improvements to health and safety at work and at home. (The reward must be open to all workers.)
