| Construction Trade Union’s far-reaching campaign to promote healthy eating among workers Helsinki (21.05.2008 - Juhani Artto) A year ago the Finnish Construction Trade Union made a surprising and bold move. It decided to invest in a two-year campaign to improve dietary habits of construction workers. The union employed, as spearheads of the campaign, three young construction workers (click to see a photo of them). Their job is to visit construction sites and vocational schools, teaching construction skills, and to provide valuable information on food - from what is actually in the food we eat down to eating habits as they now exist and crucially what is healthy and what is not. Originally the campaign was targeted at young workers and students but it soon became obvious that older workers too are interested in the message offered by the campaigners. Before their first visits to construction sites and vocational schools they received a few weeks' training in nutritional questions and in appearance. It has proved to be an asset for the campaign that the advocators are not experts but professional construction workers who are thoroughly familiar with the language and mentality of their colleagues. The union is cooperating with the Finnish Consumers' Association in this campaign. In 2006 the association commissioned a survey on young construction workers' diets and eating habits. The survey offered a fruitful starting point for the campaign. Some of the problems discovered in the survey were as follows:
Already now one can say
that the campaign has been very successful. In eight months the three men have brought
their message to over 200 construction sites and vocational schools. Newspapers and
magazines have published hundreds of interviews with the three "eat healthily"
messengers together with news on the campaign. Also the Finnish language campaign web site has had
a considerable number of visitors.
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