Consolidated Pastoral Company’s health and wellbeing program
Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC) managers believe that looking after the health and wellbeing of workers makes good business sense.
People’s safety, wellbeing, and their feeling satisfied and appreciated in the workplace is important to the company, which is working to reduce injuries and build positive health and safety cultures on its stations. Employee health and wellbeing is now a regular agenda item on the senior leadership team meetings.
It’s not always easy to look after employees in remote areas but that has not stopped CPC rolling out a strong health and wellbeing program. By developing good relationships and using services like OZhelp, in 2019 CPC flew OzHelp employees around its stations to provide health checks to 150 workers.
The Workplace Tune-up program, which included 12 month ongoing support, allowed Ozhelp and CPC to identify key health and wellbeing issues for workers.
In May, Ramsay Health’s sponsored Psychs on Bikes visited CPC’s Isis Downs Station and northern territory stations, with CPC helping Psychs on Bikes to visit many large corporate owned cattle stations in Queensland and the Northern Territory as they ride around Australia improving mental health awareness. The group offers free health checks targeting four silent killers: hypertension, diabetes, depression, and alcohol, allowing workers to check-in both mentally and physically.
As mental health is a major risk factor in agricultural and rural and remote communities, the Royal Flying Doctor’s Central West Mental Health and Wellbeing Service and Queensland Health, delivered mental health workshops on some stations. Isis Downs Station has hosted three of these workshops over the last three years.
Other mental health initiatives include:
- gifting Trademutt shirts to employees which encourages starting the conversation
- RU OK day
- stations and workers participating in and supporting the Dolly’s Dream Charity which promotes kindness and taking a unified approach to bullying
- free counselling services and support for managers
- education seminars at CPC conferences and training days
- hosted Dr Meg Percival to present the free federally funded Care for Farmers program to raise awareness on mental health issues and suicide prevention
- working towards being recognised as a mentally healthy workplace.
By donating to the Toowoomba Wagner funded It’s a Bloke Thing Foundation (raising awareness and education on prostate cancer), CPC helped the road show access properties in Queensland, Northern Territory and W.A. As well as encouraging males to have a prostate check, the program also covers melanoma and breast cancer awareness.
By planning well in advance, CPC ensures workers benefit from travelling and participating in health and wellbeing services. Developing worker emotional and physical wellbeing and upskilling their roles with training and support in both these areas is a key objective.
Station managers see and hear first hand the results of health and wellbeing initiatives but the results of the 2021 CPC Safety Climate Survey were very promising, showing a 99% job satisfaction score, 86% for job engagement and 95% for safety behaviours.
Further information
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