Occupational Health and Safety Policy
Being the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, the Company seeks to establish a leading position in the field of occupation health and safety (OHS). The Concept of the Corporate Occupational Health and Safety Management System was developed and approved in the Company in 2006. The Concept provided for the implementation of the corporate OHS management system 1. In accordance with the Concept, the Occupational Health and Safety Policy of OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel has been developed, approved by the Management Board and adopted by the General Director in 2008. The Company’s OHS Policy proclaims the principle of the priority of employees’ life and health over operational performance and declares the interest of the Company’s management in creating safe and healthy working conditions for all employees, and in maintaining sustained employee motivation for safe workplace behavior. In order to accomplish the objectives defined by the OHS Policy, the Company focuses its OHS activities in the following areas:
Improvement of occupational safety level and enhancement of working conditions In 2008, the overall OHS expenditures of Norilsk Nickel Group of Companies 2 amounted to RUR 3,296.8 million, or RUR 43.4 thousand per employee. In 2008, the overall expenditures of the Group’s entities on OHS amounted to RUR 25,240 thousand, including the expenditures of OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel – RUR 8,517.6 thousand. In 2008, the total expenditures of the Russian entities of the Group for personal protective equipment amounted to RUR 613,120.6 thousand, or RUR 8.08 thousand per employee entitled to free working clothing, safety footwear and other PPE types. The respective indicators for OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel were RUR 284,557.2 thousand and RUR 10.95 thousand respectively. This can be compared to the average expenditures on personal protective equipment in the Russian mining sector, which amount to RUR 4.8 thousand per employee 3. In 2008, the expenditures of the Group’s entities on initial and periodic medical examination amounted to RUR 143.8 million, on provision of pharmaceuticals, vitamins, and first-aid kits – RUR 24.3 million, including RUR 42.3 million and RUR 4.8 million, respectively, spent by the entities of MMC Norilsk Nickel. Prevention Policies in the Field of Occupational Health and Safety Russian entities of Norilsk Nickel Group have a multi-level system in place for monitoring and oversight of the OHS status of workplaces and divisions. At the lowest level the monitoring is focused mainly on the condition of individual workplaces and is carried out by OHS representatives. At higher levels, the monitoring and oversight are performed by special OHS commissions established at the shop and enterprise levels and comprising representatives of both management and employees. In 2008, OHS commissions carried out 12,616 inspections at the Group entities, including 4,564 inspections at MMC Norilsk Nickel. In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreements in place at the Polar Division and many other Group’s entities, the bonus funds unpaid to staff members as a result of violations of OHS requirements are used to reward the employees who participate in OHS prevention activities. In 2008, based on the results of OHS reviews and using bonus finds unpaid to those who violated OHS requirements, 6,529 employees of the Group’s entities were rewarded. Occupational Health and Safety Performance Indicators In 2008, the total number of occupational injuries in the entities of Norilsk Nickel Group 4 decreases by 10% compared to 2007, with even more prominent decreases in MMC Norilsk Nickel and mining and metallurgical operations of the Group. No group accidents with injuries were registered in the Russian entities of Group in 2008. The number of fatalities decreased by 15% compared to the previous year, while the number of serious injuries decreased by 23%. The occupational injury rate in the Group’s entities in 2008 was approximately 35% lower than in the Russian Federation in 2007 (no RF data for 2008 are available), and 6% lower than in non-ferrous metallurgy sector of the Russian Federation 5. Between 2004 and 2008 the occupational injury rate in the Polar Division decreased 1.8 times, in Kola MMC – 1.9 times. ____________________________ |
