Wednesday, 25. March 2020.
HIP-Petrohemija continues its operations during the state of emergency and following the government recommendations it has increased the measures of protection in the company. In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and lower the risk for the employees we take everyday steps to protect our own and our colleagues' health.
In the company we have precisely defined the measures of prevention, but also the steps to be undertaken as response in the case of COVID-19 infection. HIP-Petrohemija keeps following the recommendations of health experts and of competent government bodies, and undertakes all necessary sanitary and safety measures to protect the health of the employees. Additional hygiene measures have been introduced as well as space desinfection, and face masks, gloves and hand disinfectant have been provided for all the employees.
In order to ensure safety and health at work, after the state of emergency was declared, when the curfew was introduced and public transport was restricted, it was decided the operations in HIP-Petrohemija to be organized with minimum engagement of employees. Instead of three 8-hours shifts we have organized the work in two 12-hours shifs. Some employees had to use their vacation days, those who had vacation days remaining from 2019, and others were let to work from home, primarily those over age of 60 and parents of children under 12.
For the employees who commute from Belgrade to Pančevo and from Zrenjanin to Elemir, after the local transport was cancelled, the company has provided bus service, and vans for those living in Pančevo.
All business trips abroad have been cancelled, and the employees have been ordered to have their meetings by electronic means of communication.
Special measures have been introduced for external business partners and subcontractors, and the visits and tours around the plants which are not necessary have been forbidden.
The process is managed by the company's Team for Preparedness and Response to HSE events, which was formed to plan activities, follow the situation, and resolve everyday problems faced by employees in these new circumstances caused by COVID-19. HIP-Petrohemija employees are kept informed about the current situation regarding COVID-19, on daily basis, through the internal company newsletters, as well as directly by their chiefs, and in order to additionally improve the communication a special section has been created on our intranet portal.
As a socially responsible company HIP-Petrohemija is fully oriented to its main goal which is to protect its employees health, so it will continue to follow the recommendations of health experts and of competent government bodies in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.