500 WPM employees get free health checks in the west
Published:Monday | April 21, 2025 | 12:06 AMRochelle Clayton/Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
The administrators at Western Parks and Markets’ (WPM) Waste Management Limited continued the inauguration of their new offices with a free health fair for 500 employees to encourage a healthy lifestyle.
The health fair was held at WPM’s new location in Providence Estate, St James, last Tuesday.
WPM had relocated its staff from its previous Freeport offices earlier in April.
According to Edward Muir, WPM’s regional operations manager, the initiative was formed out of a desire to reinvest in the employees who devote their lives to providing an essential service to western Jamaica.
“Over the years, we have requested a lot from our staff. The public demands more from our staff. Now we have to ensure that our staff … are in the best shape and health, to maintain the standards and well-being of the region. So today’s initiative is one which we bring in persons from various health departments to … do some checks on my staff,” Muir said.
Staff members received health services such as blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, HIV tests, dental screenings, and Pap smears.
“We’re trying to ensure that our staff … are in the best health shape to execute the duties that we request of them,” Muir told reporters.
He further explained that Tuesday’s free health fair was a part of a greater mandate to provide essential services to their staff, while encouraging healthier choices. He noted that the move to a larger space has granted them the freedom to fête staff members in a holistic way.
“We have invested a lot in our staff. First, we ensured that they had proper uniforms to wear. The government ensured that we received some additional new garbage trucks to ensure that we execute our mandate as best as possible. Now we ensure that our administrative staff are at a better location where they can work in a better environment. So the next step now is to ensure that our sanitation workers are in the best shape to execute their duties.”
“We are moving along in stages to ensure that our staff are in the best shape,” Muir added.
Among the WPM staff who benefited from Tuesday’s initiative was Donovan Graham, a senior truck driver. Graham told The Gleaner that he took advantage of multiple services provided and was eagerly awaiting his opportunity to partake in additional testing.
“I want to test my eyes as well,” he said.
Graham also praised his employers, noting that Tuesday’s health fair was essential for the numerous employees at WPM.
“I think it is a very interesting initiative because there are a lot of us working in the company who don’t get regular check-ups. We believe in just going to work and heading back home, so when the government does a thing like this now, we like it. Some of us might have a likkle sugar or blood pressure problem, and we don’t know,” he said.
At the same time, Jermaine Gayle, another driver at WPM, was grateful to be on the receiving end of a service for a day. He mentioned that sanitation workers are typically up in the early hours of the morning for work.
“It’s good to have everybody sitting down. I think they feel relaxed for one day. You know that everybody gets up after 3 a.m. fi go to work, and sometimes after 8 p.m. we are still at work, so a day weh dem kinda sit down and chill out is very good. It is also good that they carried these persons onboard to give these services. We are doing a key job because if we [should] stop working, the whole country would shut down, so likewise, our health should come first,” said Gayle.
Meanwhile, Muir told reporters that Tuesday’s initiative is set to be added to WPM’s yearly calendar.
“The plan is to have it annually, because one of the greatest assets to us is to ensure that our staff are in the best shape to execute their job. And that is something that we are committed to investing in. So we invest in them, and they ensure that the public is satisfied with the work that we do,” Muir declared.