Ford faces workplace safety challenges similar to those of many multinational manufacturing companies, including establishing and reinforcing high, common expectations for the safety of our employees worldwide, as discussed in the Management section.
Substantially all of the hourly employees in our Automotive operations in the United States are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements. Most hourly employees and many nonmanagement salaried employees of our subsidiaries outside the United States are also represented by unions. These unions are key partners in achieving a safe workplace. Most of our manufacturing facilities have joint union–management safety committees that guide the development and implementation of safety programs in their operations.
We are increasingly outsourcing services at our facilities – everything from janitorial tasks to materials handling services. We are also direct hiring more temporary and part-time workers. A key focus for us has thus become ensuring that contractors and temporary and part-time employees are fully informed about health and safety practices, so that they can move about our facilities and do their jobs in a manner that does not endanger either their own safety or the safety of our permanent, full-time workforce.
The "health" part of health and safety is also an increasing focus for Ford. This is driven by growing recognition of the impact that health issues like heart disease, diabetes and obesity can have on the well-being of our employees, as well as the cost of providing health care to our current and retired workforce. (See the Financial health section for further discussion of health care costs.) By helping employees to prevent serious diseases and effectively manage chronic conditions, we can have a positive impact on our employees' quality of life and our bottom line.
In the materiality analysis conducted for this report, workplace health and safety was identified as an issue of high potential impact on Ford and a moderate level of concern for stakeholders. Ford's cost to provide health care coverage to current and retired employees was recognized as a very important issue by the Company and stakeholders alike because of the significant competitive disadvantage it presents for the Company, as compared to U.S. transplant competitors that do not have the same legacy costs.
