Hang-over: No place in a mine

By Ramon Dacawi 

MANKAYAN, Benguet- It is said that gin was introduced by the Americans when they came up to the mountains to build a highland resort and to search for gold. And typically, in the cold mountains of Benguet, alcohol was men’s fare after each day of farming, mining or simply, working. This ale is acclaimed by many for its soothing effect especially after a hard day’s work.

Enter the breathalyzer, a tool to measure your alcohol level from your breath. This instrument was introduced by Far Southeast Gold Resources Inc. (FSGRI) late last year for all its workers, contractors, and visitors. Dubbed as the all-knowing “alcoblow”, this device may initially have been accepted grudgingly because it meant a significant if not drastic change in the workers’ daily routine. Over the months, there has been growing appreciation for this practice.

 Every day, prior to starting work, employees are required to blow into the breathalyzer for their alcohol content to be measured.  Iaian Petri, Site Safety Manager said “We have to manage our vices. We are not telling them not to drink booze, it’s just that this is a measure for all employees to be disciplined in their alcohol intake. Safety being the priority value of the company entails discipline. A bad hangover can negatively affect a person’s performance and worse can put him and other co-workers more prone to accidents – and we do not want that.”

The stiff policy of being sent home packing on the third offense of having too much alcohol in their blood has brought hesitation to the employees in frequenting local bars after their shifts. An owner of one of the drinking spots in the town’s Poblacion who wishes not to be identified attests to the effect of this safety precaution, she said, “ Umay da met piman aginum ditoy ngem  han da met agbayag nga kasl aidi, tunu kuwa ket tumakder da met aminen ken agpakada agawid. (They still come and drink but they do not stay too long anymore unlike before. After a couple of bottles they leave.)”

The same bar owner revealed that she wondered about the reason in the sudden change in routine of some menfolk, specifically FSGRI employees. She later learned of the employees concerns on flunking the daily alco-blow test. “Ngemusto met ketdi ah kaysa agpatpatnag da ngaa gbartek ken agdudumog ta lamisaan. Mayat ta nadisiplina da,” (It is better that they now have a limit rather than staying until the wee hours of the morning slumped on the tables, drunk.) she happily added despite the slowdown of alcohol sales.

For the Community Sustainable Development Team, the alco-blow test was implemented early this year. Nellie Ballola, Community Sustainable Development Team Site Manager said that, “We have drivers and technical people who are all important in delivering their work safely. Dealing with the community sometimes brings them to socially drink with them, but they have learned to discipline themselves from taking in more than they could handle.”

Jehu Caytap, an FSGRI community facilitator from Tabio is all praises, saying “The breathalyzer has only good effects for us employees. It made us more disciplined in handling our alcohol intake which made us more fit to work.”

“In all situations, we are required to implement good safety practices through company policies and procedures  but more importantly we had to change the attitude of the employees in the way they go about their everyday work activities”, Garry Ames FSGRI Site Manager said.  “The change was remarkable and I am very happy with it. We all want our employees to be able to go home to their families the same way that they came to work; for them to able to earn a living and to feed and take care of their family” he added.