Our Copper Division in Kazakhstan provides medical
and dental services at no cost to current employees,
and at less than half price for their families and
retired employees. In 2009, medical facilities
across the Copper Division treated 15,657 people, of
whom 6,380 were employees, 937 were retired
employees and 2,213 employee family members.
The Copper Division also provides leisure facilities
to employees and their families. It owns two health
resorts, a holiday facility and six children’s
summer camps. In 2009, 4,395 employees and 637
retired employees visited health and holiday
facilities paid for by Kazakhmys. Over 4,000 of our
employees’ children spent their holidays at
our summer camps.
Training and development
Training is essential for employees to do the best
job they can. We invest in training and education
for employees of all levels. We provide formal
education at colleges and universities, as well as
courses in mining specialities at our own training
facilities. Our purpose-built technical college in
Satpayev offers classroom training as well as
operational and safety training both above and below
ground.
At the end of 2009, we completed construction of a
second technical college at Balkhash, where we will
open a similar training centre for employees in
2010. We require all employees to pass periodic
operational, health and safety refresher courses and
tests, and help many employees to retrain in a new
speciality to help them develop their careers with
us.
In 2009, 25,808 employees received professional
training at our technical college, universities and
mining schools in Kazakhstan and abroad. There are
currently 388 continuing their training at our
technical college, 33 at Kazakhstani universities
and 31 abroad. In 2009, the Copper and Power
Divisions spent over $900,000 on external training,
although this does not include the cost of running
our own training centres.
Committed to responsibility
Nurturing talent
In 2005, we selected two talented young engineers to
study for a Masters degree at Beijing Science and
Technology University.
After interviewing 10 applicants, we chose two
engineers, Sabira Makhambetova and Natalya Mutayeva,
who worked at the Zhezkazgan and Satpayev facilities
respectively. These applicants displayed a high
level of professional qualification, good knowledge
of economics and production management, and
excellent communication skills. Both chose to study
for a Masters degree in enterprise management, from
a list of relevant courses offered by the Company.
In 2009, both engineers completed their studies and
returned to higher-level, better paid positions at
Kazakhmys. Sabira now works as an economist in our
capital construction investments department, and
Natalya has become an equipment engineer in the
procurement team.
Says Sabira, “I am able to exploit all the
skills I have acquired – understanding of
economics and knowledge of Chinese – as our
department closely works with Chinese partners. I am
grateful to Kazakhmys for providing me with such an
opportunity to acquire a new speciality and to
experience living in an exciting and completely
culturally different environment.”
Equality and diversity
We want to provide a fair and diverse workplace free
from discrimination. This benefits employees, and
ensures we profit from a workforce that reflects the
local population and the variety of skills and
experience within it. We are committed to
recruiting, developing, training and rewarding
employees based on merit. We employ disabled people
with relevant skills, provided they can work safely.
Recruiting women is a challenge throughout the
mining industry. In our Copper Division, around 35%
of all employees, including many of our engineers,
and 22% of managers are women.
Within Kazakhstan the Group employs a small number
of non-Kazakh nationals, generally where there is a
skill shortage or where those individuals bring
particular experience or abilities which is
unavailable. A key aim is to ensure a transfer of
skills and knowledge to existing employees, in order
to benefit the local workforce and reduce dependence
on ‘expat’ labour.
Consultation and communication
Keeping employees informed about our business
strategy and matters that affect their work is
critical to maintaining a loyal and motivated
workforce. We communicate with employees in a
variety of ways, primarily through face-to-face
conversations between managers and their teams,
email, and also through a company-wide internal
newspaper and intranet site, both established in the
past year.
Most employees are represented by trade unions,
which negotiate collective employment agreements
with our divisions. In Germany, employees are
represented by a works council and approximately 55%
of employees are members of the IG Metall union.
In 2009, the trade union representing employees in
Kazakhstan engaged with management on issues
including living and working conditions, food
provision, and health and safety. We also negotiated
on measures implemented in response to the global
recession and resulting collapse in copper prices.
These include the suspension of several social
benefits such as preferential prices at health
centres, and a shortened working week for certain
employees. The union held almost 100 meetings during
the year.
Our Youth Union boasts almost 18,000 members and
supports younger employees joining the Company. All
copper staff under the age of 35 are free to join.
The Youth Union runs work-related competitions plus
cultural and sporting events, as well as organising
charitable and volunteering projects.
2010 commitment
-
Open our second employee training centre at the
new Balkhash technical college.
