Introduction

Health and Safety (H&S) refers to policies and procedures that protect employees and ensure safe working conditions. H&S has been a core Focus Area of the SMMS since 2019. Through measuring posts’ performance, IPC is actively contributing to the aims of UN SDG 8 – ‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.’ Within the broader aims of UN SDG 8.

For participants, particular areas of focus include manual handling/loading; road and vehicle safety; slips, trips and falls; mental health and stress; and forklift safety. These are addressed through mechanisms such as safety awareness training; promotion of health topics; grievance reporting systems and joint management-worker H&S committees.

Emerging trends

Employee safety and wellbeing has always been a top priority for the postal sector, given the nature of our work. The growth of e-commerce, safety technology developments, and the use of alternative fuel/ automated vehicles are all emerging trends that have an important bearing on the health and safety of the postal workforce. As ever the postal sector faces a variety of challenges, but SMMS participants continue to show resilience and adaptability in a rapidly changing world. 

SMMS participants

Results for H&S in 2024 are calculated using SMP results from 24 of the 27 SMMS participants. The three posts not included are Canada Post, Japan Post and Thailand Post as mentioned in the introduction. Australian Postal Corporation is also not included in the 2024 results.

Results

• H&S was the best performing focus areas within the 2024 Sustainability Management Proficiency (SMP) questionnaire, highlighting the importance of this issue to the group. 
• Scoring 79.7% collectively, H&S ranked highest amongst all focus areas, over seven percentage points ahead of the overall SMP group score of 72.6%. A score of 79.7% reflects that posts have good H&S management proficiency and that further improvement across the posts will be important in the upcoming years.
• Participants scored highest in questions related to Measurement & Evaluation and Embedding, demonstrating their commitment to tracking performance, implementing policy and engaging stakeholders in this crucial area. 
• Compared to 2023, Disclosure and Reporting showed the smallest improvement, increasing by 0.9 percentage points and is still the lowest scoring pillar in this Focus Area. IPC encourages posts to continue sharing best practices and their expert knowledge with other operators in order to drive improvements.
  
   

Highlights of the group’s performance in 2024 include:

• 24 out of 24 posts reporting on H&S have a strategic focus on mental health and/or stress
• 24 posts have implemented management processes designed to mitigate H&S risks
• 24 posts have defined responsibility for H&S at a board/executive level
• 24 posts collect data on H&S aspects including: dog attacks, slips, trips/falls, and mental health/stress