My wisdom horizon was drastically expanded recently through participation in two exercises. One was held here in St Kitts and the other was held in Canada. Both of them were centered on safety.

The local exercise focused on the anti-poverty programme of the Federation and the role of Social Security in this campaign. The presenters stated that in 2008, 24.5% and 19.9% of households in St. Kitts & in Nevis respectively were vulnerable to poverty. This translated to 37.8% and 28.8% of individuals. The nation spent $20 million or 1.6% of its Gross Domestic Product to help these individuals. This then is the safety net: an assistance programme designed to assist the neediest amongst us, and to help or prevent citizens from falling through "the cracks" of society.

I learnt that 9% of that safety net is contributed by Social Security through our anti-poverty measure, the $250.00 per month that is paid as an Old Age Assistance pension. This money relieves 37% of poverty line of those in St. Kitts and 28% of those in Nevis, and is the single largest component of the safety net of the Federation. Ten percent of all elderly persons, or 511 of them - as of December 31, 2008 - received this monthly money. Payment to these persons in 2008 alone was EC$1,337,095.

This is one of those benefits from Social Security which people either love or love to hate - there is little middle ground on it. Those who argue against it say that persons who did not contribute to Social Security should not be paid by Social Security. These persons may take comfort from the data from 2003 to 2008 which showed a decline of these recipients from 703 to 511, a decline of over 27%. There was a corresponding 20% decline in the payments, from EC$1,666,614 to the EC$1,337,095 stated earlier.

Those who need it - and those who get it - sing its praises and are very thankful. For the period stated, there were 182 new awardees, 108 women, and 74 men, some as old as 90 years. Should we really allow our elderly to suffer? Especially our women folk?

There are other aspects to our poverty alleviation obligation too, but that discussion will be held in abeyance for now.

My northern exposure, to Canada, exposed me to occupational health and safety issues.
The sessions that I attended examined the aging brain with a view to teaching it new, safer, habits; risk assessment; lessons from a pandemic that can be applied to the workplace; reporting procedures for "little" slips; and construction issues. There were also general sessions with keynote speakers and stalls where suppliers exhibited the latest in health and safety facilities.

I came away with two major lessons. Although a workplace has an obligation to provide a healthy and safe workplace, the ultimate provider must be the employee. The best way to ensure health and safety in the workplace is for workers to know their rights, and quietly but firmly assert them. Health and safety in the workplace is a culture that must be developed and adhered to: legislation can only go so far. Workers in the tropics have no excuse of discomfort as a reason for not using safety equipment: through research, appropriate equipment have been developed for tropical areas.

"Accidents are preventable" one speaker declared. The two largest components of avoidance are knowledge and alertness, and all we can do at Social Security is encourage workers to be vigilant since we do not have an enforcement mandate. Furthermore, if we accept that accidents are preventable, then we must also accept that the 895 claims that gave rise to the EC$1,228,103 payment (the largest pay-out of the 2003/2008 period) of 2008 could have been prevented.

Two Herman Miller quotes from one of the exhibition booths have stayed with me: "my nose is like an hour hand on a clock, it should always be pointed between 3 & 4 o'clock, not above 3 o'clock nor below 4 o'clock"; and "my body's rest and recovery cycle is like a 20 minute hour glass - it needs 3 short breaks an hour to nourish and refresh itself". I think those quotes speak for themselves. Fatigue kills!

Safety and safety nets!

(Some data is taken from the 2003 -2008 Statistical Digest, available for purchase from the Social Security Board)