Social programmes for employees

Health improvement programmes

Given the harsh climate of the Far North and the difficult working conditions at mining facilities, Nornickel has been consistently investing in health programmes for employees and their families. Health improvement and health resort treatment programmes are a key priority of Nornickel’s social policy.

In 2019, 14,200 people (employees and their families) had recreation and treatment in Zapolyarye Health Resort (Sochi). Some 8,500 people spent their holidays in other health resorts, including 4,400 who travelled to Bulgarian resorts and 1,100 who went to Hainan, China. The Company compensates its employees an average of about 84% of the trip voucher cost.

The health resort treatment programme is designed to prevent the development of chronic diseases in employees’ children and give them an opportunity to take full advantage of their summer holidays. As part of the initiative, about 1,400 children spent their holidays in Anapa and Bulgaria.

Sports programmes

Given the harsh climate of the Far North, supporting healthy lifestyle behaviours is a key focus area in the personal development of Nornickel employees. Sports programmes seek to promote a healthy lifestyle, build a sense of corporate solidarity, improve interpersonal interactions, and develop a strong corporate culture.

Nornickel pays special attention to corporate competitions, including the employees’ popular sports such as hockey, futsal, volleyball, basketball, alpine skiing, snowboarding, and swimming. Family sports contests are yet another focus area. One of Nornickel’s social policy highlights is the support of amateur sports.

To ensure further development of ama teur hockey, in 2019, Norilsk hosted the Night Hockey League games, with ten teams including Nornickel employees taking part in the event.

Social programmes for employees (USD mln)Including enterprises that have no collective bargaining agreements in place but have approved relevant local regulations and are covered by MMC Norilsk Nickel’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, including foreign assets.

Other events include regular Spartakiads and various mass sports events held across its footprint and involving not just Nornickel employees and their families but also local residents.

About 30,500 employees as well as local residents took part in corporate mass sports events, Spartakiads, and other sports competitions held across the Group’s footprint in 2019.

Housing programmes

Nornickel currently operates several housing programmes for its employees.

In 2019, Nornickel continued its consolidated housing programme, Our Home/My Home, purchasing ready-to-live apartments across Russia. Apartments are usually purchased in the Moscow and Tver Regions, as well as in the Krasnodar Region, with the Company seeking to buy closely located properties to create a more comfortable living environment for employees by developing additional infrastructure and optimising maintenance for the property management company.

Each Programme member buys an apartment through co-investment: the employer covers up to half the purchase price payable but not more than RUB 3 mln (USD 46,000), with the rest paid by the employee within a certain period of employment with the Group (five to ten years). The cost of housing is fixed for the entire period of the participation. The property title is registered in the name of the employee only at the end of their participation in the programme; however, the participant may move in immediately after the apartment is purchased. Since the programme launch in 2010, the Company has purchased 3,826 ready-to-move-in apartments.

A new housing programme, Your Home, was launched in 2019. It will be implemented similarly to the Our Home/My Home programme, except that the title to the apartment will be immediately registered in the name of the employee, through encumbered by a mortgage. The encumbrance is removed from the property once the employee fully repays the debt to the seller. Since the launch of the programme, the Company has purchased 1,176 ready-to-move-in apartments.

Nornickel also operates the Corporate Social Subsidised Loan Programme offering Nornickel employees an interest-free loan to pay the initial instalment and reimbursing a certain percentage of interest paid to the bank on the mortgage loan. Overall, more than 400 employees took part in the programme.

Pension plans

Nornickel offers its employees private pension plans. Under the Co-Funded Pension Plan, Nornickel and its employees make equal contributions to the plan. The Complementary Corporate Pension Plan provides incentives for pre-retirement employees with considerable job achievements and a long service record at Nornickel facilities.

Pension plans coverage
Item 2017 2018 2019
Co-Funded Pension Plan
Financing, USD mln 8.6 7.7 7.6
Number of participants 15,700 13,916 12,304
Complementary Corporate Pension Plan
Financing, USD mln 8.5 6.7 6.1
Number of participants 718 545 525
Other pension plans
Financing, USD mln 0.1 0.9 1.0
Number of participants 1,118 1,114 1,151