We had two internal celebrations at our head office last week: Onam on Thursday and our Tristar Group founder’s birthday on Friday. From the time I joined the company in April 2012, we had been celebrating the two events every year, plus Iftar at our staff accommodation during Ramadan, Christmas program at our yearend party, International Women’s Day on March 8, and World Environment Day on June 5, among others.
Tristar is an Active Participant to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) since 2011 and we are committed to upholding the human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption 10 principles. Principle 6 states that ‘Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation’ which is all about Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).
According to a blog by Matt Bush on April 13, 2012 in the Great Place to Work website, Diversity and Inclusion is more than policies, programs, or headcounts. Equitable employers outpace their competitors by respecting the unique needs, perspectives and potential of all their team members. As a result, diverse and inclusive workplaces earn deeper trust and more commitment from their employees.
“Diversity and Inclusion are two interconnected concepts—but they are far from interchangeable. Diversity is about representation or the make-up of an entity. Inclusion is about how well the contributions, presence and perspectives of different groups of people are valued and integrated into an environment,” he added.
Our workforce has more than 30 nationalities spread in 21 countries and territories – and soon to be 29. There are more than 50 women employees from 12 different countries working across various facilities and locations. We have established an environment where women can thrive, prosper and contribute to the company’s long-term development. Tristar is a signatory, too, to the UN Women Empowerment Principle in 2019.
Since this column is appearing in The Global Filipino Magazine, I had asked three ‘kabayan’ (compatriots) women colleagues to share their experiences with the company.
Sheridan Dela Rosa: “I joined Tristar in September 2007 as Data Entry Operator but later on changed to Office Assistant in 2008. I was promoted as Operations Executive while I am in the Eppco operations in 2009. Then when I joined the Shell operations in 2011 I was promoted as Operations Supervisor then later became Senior Operations Supervisor. The best thing about working in Tristar is, I love my work and I enjoy working with my colleagues.”
Aurabelle Dian: “I joined Tristar in 2006 as Secretary-Operations. I have been assisting operations when I joined then moved to Reception, Warehouse Operations, Transport Operations, Billing, and Purchasing. The best things about working in Tristar are the opportunity to grow and the friendly working environment.”
Adela Elago: “I joined Tristar on August 3, 2010, as Admin Assistant. I then got promoted to HR Assistant, HR Coordinator, Admin Officer and I am now the HR Officer. The best things about working in Tristar are Job Security/Stability and Generosity of the company.”
During the panel discussion on “Workers, Wellness & Welfare: Empowering Internal Stakeholders” at the Arabia CSR Forum on October 3, 2021, Tristar Group Founder and CEO Eugene Mayne shared the company’s Employee Welfare Programs by illustrating how the company meets its employees’ emotional, social, physical and financial requirements.
He shared that Tristar regularly conducts wellness activities such as daily stretch breaks and seasonal tournaments, including cricket, football, and badminton, among others. The company celebrates birthdays and festivities together, conducts singing and dance competitions, and hosts annual parties and Toastmasters’ sessions to inculcate and nurture the feeling of togetherness and belonging.
Mr. Mayne, an Indian national who arrived in the UAE in 1976, established Tristar in 1998 in Dubai to initially provide safe and reliable transport service the petroleum industry in the UAE. Now, we are now widely known as a fully integrated Energy Logistics Solutions provider of national and international oil companies, and intergovernmental organizations. Tristar fully supports the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals as a Responsible Business.
We also observe special days such as the World Day for Safety and Health at Work (April 28) which promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally and the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (3rd Sunday of November) to remember the many millions killed and injured in road crashes, their families and communities. These two are related to our company vision ‘to manage our business to the highest health, safety, environmental and compliance standards’.
The fact that I’m Filipino and a member of the senior management team really goes to show that Tristar is indeed practicing Diversity and Inclusion. As we always say in the company ‘Aim High Tristar’.
Photo Caption 1: Tristar Group Founder and CEO Eugene Mayne (in tie) with staff during his birthday celebration on September 9.
Photo Caption 2: Aurabelle Dian (left photo) and Adela Elago (2nd left in right photo) during the Onam celebration on September 8.
Note: Art ‘Popoy’ Los Banos is a 21-year Dubai resident with his wife, broadcast journalist Rachel Salinel. He is in charge of Corporate Communications of the fully integrated energy logistics service provider Tristar Group, where he is the only Filipino in the senior management team. He was the former 2008 Philippine Independence Day (PID) organizing committee chairman in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Art ‘Popoy’ and Rachel were named as one of the Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf for four years by Illustrado Magazine. In December 2019, he received the Philippine Pride Awards in Public Relations from the Philippine Business Council-Abu Dhabi chapter for his ‘exemplary leadership and tireless efforts to continuously support, boost and campaign for excellence to uplift the Filipino image.’ Recently in June this year, Art ‘Popoy’ was named as one of the Philippines’ Top 30 Leaders on LinkedIn.