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Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds in official launch

Huge Commonwealth and corporate backing for T&L mental health foundation

 

Some of transport and logistics’ heaviest hitters are backing a mental health initiative promoting itself as providing ‘the first single national industry-wide approach to tackling mental health and wellbeing’.

The Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds (HHTS) Foundation is a collaboration between road transport, warehousing and logistics operators to support drivers and logistics workers.

HHTS notes its overarching objective is the creation of a single national mental health plan for truck drivers, distribution and warehouse staff with the participation of smaller operators funded by the larger founding industry members, comprising the following three pillars:

  • Training – an increase in the number of people trained in mental health at transport and logistics facilities
  • Standards – standardisation of policies and regulation at transport and logistics facilities
  • Wellness – helping the individual be healthier from a diet and mental health perspective.

The foundation cites the 2019 Indicators of a Thriving Workplace Survey which notes the transport, postal and warehousing industries ranked lowest for mentally healthy workplaces out of 19 other industries, with only 37 per cent of the industry taking action to improve outcomes.

“We want everyone in our industry to know it’s OK to not feel OK and that our mental health needs to be actively managed just like our physical health,” HHTS chair Paul Graham says.

“In our industries, we face additional challenges based on the nature of our work. Drivers and logistics workers often feel pressure from long hours, fatigue, traumatic incidents, isolation and social disconnection.

“This can lead to things like depression, anxiety, poor diet, lack of exercise, addictions, family problems at home and a whole raft of other issues.

“Together we believe we can create not just a better environment for people to work in but a safer place for individual mental health and wellbeing.”


A recent WorkSafe webinar series also tackled T&L mental health


HHTS notes its future aspiration is to be the overarching umbrella body for the road transport and logistics industry for mental health and wellbeing.

The foundation currently relies on its partnerships, industry sponsorship and government funding to carry out its objectives.

It counts Woolworths Group, Coles, Linfox, Toll, Qube and Ron Finemore Transport as corporate partners with support from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and the federal government – the latter two combining for a $600,000 grant under the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).

Lindsay Fox is also identified as a founding patron.

“I’ve seen the impacts mental health can have on people in our industry and I know it’s time we speak up on this issue as much as we have done on safety,” Fox says.

 

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