We report our performance in 2006 against our business principles.
AngloGold Ashanti is a significant employer in the global gold mining industry. Of importance is the fact that many of its operations are situated in countries and regions where, in terms of the local economy, the company is a significant employer – such as in South Africa, Ghana and Tanzania.
AngloGold Ashanti employed 61,453 people in 2006 (calculated on a monthly average basis), made up of 46,407 (75.5%) permanent employees and 15,047 (24.5%) contractors and joint venture employees. In 2005, the group employed 63,993 people, comprising 47,848 employees and 16,145 contractors.
| Employees | Contractors | Total 2006 | Total 2005 | Variance (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 623 | 283 | 906 | 946 | -4.2 |
| Australia | 111 | 368 | 479 | 393 | 21.9 |
| Brazil | 2,155 | 2,273 | 4,428 | 3,371 | 31.4 |
| Ghana | 6,509 | 2,935 | 9,443 | 10,180 | -7.2 |
| Guinea | 1,541 | 1,167 | 2,708 | 1,978 | 36.9 |
| Mali | 506 | 967 | 1,473 | 1,309 | 12.5 |
| Namibia | 313 | – | 313 | 315 | -0.6 |
| South Africa | 30,162 | 5,806 | 35,968 | 40,754 | -11.7 |
| Tanzania | 2,043 | 1,177 | 3,220 | 2,280 | 41.2 |
| USA | 325 | 44 | 369 | 357 | 3.4 |
| Other* | 2,119 | 27 | 2,146 | 2,110 | 1.7 |
| Total group | 46,407 | 15,047 | 61,453 | 63,993 | -4.0 |
Changes in employee numbers above reflect:
In December 2006, AngloGold Ashanti announced a restructuring programme at the Obuasi mine in Ghana. The first phase will involve the retrenchment of 850 of the mine's 5,700 employees and 1,100 contract employees. The second phase will involve the retrenchment of some 1,154 additional people. The restructuring is intended to rightsize the cost structure at the mine in line with production of around 400,000 ounces per annum. Historically the mine was predominantly managed on a functional basis. However, after the initial re-engineering and re-structuring undertaken by AngloGold Ashanti over the past two years, the mine is now managed on a process basis which has reduced the labour complement and identified positions no longer needed. The retrenchments follow extensive consultation and communication with employees.
Four executive directors and 13 non-executive directors direct the AngloGold Ashanti board. The board is chaired by non-executive chairman, Russell Edey, and supported by non-executive deputy chairman, James Motlatsi. The chief executive officer, Bobby Godsell, has been in that position since the inception of the company in 1998. The board structure and role is discussed in the Annual Report 2006 and in the Ethics and Governance section of the Report to Society 2006.
The four executive directors are charged with the day-to-day running of the company (making up the executive committee (Exco), which is chaired by the CEO), and they are supported by the management committee. A member of the management committee is responsible for human resources and the central human resource development policies that guide and support the human resources practice within the group. Two chief operating officers and the management of the regions/countries are responsible for the management of the company. Policies are developed and procedures implemented that are relevant to the country and circumstances inherent within the region, complying with regional legislation and labour requirements, as well as region-specific imperatives.
In the discussions that follow the company’s performance as an employer is reported on. This performance is in line with the company’s business principles, which are shown in orange below.
The company reports independently on its compliance with the Mining Charter. This information may be found at www.anglogoldashanti.com
By virtue of its South African domicile, AngloGold Ashanti is subject to certain conventions signed by the South African government, including the human rights and social conventions of the ILO (ILO 29, 87, 98, 100, 105, 111, 128 and 138). South Africa’s constitution, together with its associated laws, guarantees non-discrimination on the basis of race and other unfair grounds, freedom of association and the rights of children, among other basic human rights.
Certain ILO conventions (such as ILO Convention 128 dealing with child labour, and ILO Convention No 29 dealing with forced and compulsory labour) are also governed by law in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Namibia, Tanzania and the United States, and by law and various codes such as the Labour Code and Collective Agreement in Mali.
A wide range of agreements and policies is also in place at an operational level to ensure that human rights are protected. These include recognition and collective bargaining agreements, disciplinary, grievance and appeal procedures and non-discrimination agreements.
No breaches of fundamental rights conventions of the ILO were alleged or charges brought against the company in connection with these during 2006.
In line with the group’s upholding of human rights conventions, freedom of association is encouraged and collective bargaining structures are recognised in those regions where such structures commonly exist. In practice, this means they exist at all operations except CC&V in the United States and Sunrise Dam in Australia, where employees are not members of unions (as is common practice in these countries). Management/union relationships are governed by negotiated agreements in respect of most of the group’s workforce, with 85.6% of the global workforce represented by recognised trade unions or catered for through collective bargaining processes.
In South Africa, 97.8% of all employees are either represented by unions or catered for by the agency shop agreement. (This agreement exists across the lower level bargaining unit within the company. This means that non-union members contribute 0.75% of their monthly basic pay to a human and industrial relations fund, whereas union members contribute 1% of their monthly basic pay to this cause.) The four unions that are recognised are the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the United Association of South Africa (UASA), Solidarity and the South African Equity Workers’ Association (SAEWA).
There were no significant disputes or strikes in South Africa during the period, although there were six incidents that led to brief work stoppages. These incidents were amicably resolved. Elsewhere, one strike took place at Cerro Vanguardia Argentina in April and May 2006 by some 200 employees. A total of nine working days were lost.
Racial and sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination are prohibited by the company’s business principles as well as by legislation in most of the countries where the operations are situated. Specific policies are in place at all AngloGold Ashanti’s operations to protect the interests of employees.
Representation of women at all levels is as follows:
In Mali, expatriate and local employees attend cultural diversity courses, run by a local service provider. A report on Cultural Diversity in Ghana was commissioned by AngloGold Ashanti in 2006. Written by a local, Ghana-based academic and consultant, it is intended to be a guide for expatriate employees and contractors who are sent on assignment or transfer to Ghana, to sensitise them to local traditions, customs and other relevant issues. It is intended that similar documents will be produced for Tanzania and the DRC.
and
Employment equity forms a part of AngloGold Ashanti’s broader human resources strategy which aims to promote an organisational culture that recognises the diversity of the societies within which the company operates, and which affords all employees the development opportunities that will enable them to achieve optimal levels of career development during their employment with the company. The group’s employment equity and equal opportunity programme covers employee development and retention, strategies to counteract losses, career development and the promotion of mobility in an environment that is free of unfair discrimination.
Employment equity and/or equal opportunity targets are set and their attainment is monitored by a board sub-committee, the Employment Equity and Skills Development Committee.
AngloGold Ashanti has a group policy in place that encourages the employment of local employees and replacement of expatriate employees over time, through skills transfer programmes and career development of local citizens.
In 2006, progress was made:
In particular, at operations in Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Tanzania and Mali job vacancies, recruitment and separation rates rose significantly in 2006 in relation to previous years. Numerous factors have contributed to this. The expansion of the global mining industry resulted in competition for skilled employees, particularly in the technical disciplines during 2006 and this was compounded by the impending closure of Yatela and Morila, resulting in the loss of many employees.
All of these operations have localisation plans in place which have achieved varying degrees of success. The following principles underpin the region; strategy:
Localisation plans on all operations are scheduled to be reviewed during the course of 2007 with the emphasis being placed on the following: identification of potential, talent management, succession plans, and training and development plans. Progress reviews of the respective localisation plans will take place quarterly during technical visits to the mine by the regional executive teams. (See case study: Localisation programme in Tanzania).
AngloGold Ashanti’s philosophy encompasses a wide range of training initiatives. In 2006, the company spent $26.37 million on employee training and development, of which $21.20 million –4.64% of pay roll – was spent in the South Africa operations). In 2005, the employee training and development costs for South African-based operations amounted to $23.2 million.
It is the company’s policy to provide Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) to ensure that all employees are able to become literate and numerate. (All employees at the operations in Australia and the United States are literate, as are most employees in Argentina, Brazil and Ghana.)
To be literate in a particular language, individuals should be able to use the language effectively to think, to acquire knowledge, to express their identity, feelings and ideas, and to interact with others. To be numerate, an individual should be able to develop the ability and confidence to think numerically in order to interpret and analyse critically everyday situations and to solve problems.
For many years the company has afforded its employees the opportunity to become literate and obtain a qualification that will allow for greater career advancement opportunities. Currently, 19% of the South African workforce does not have a recognised qualification.
The group’s Talent Management Programme identifies and develops the group’s management for the future. The programme has three areas of intervention, namely, the development, retention and monitoring of talent, and includes an annual talent review at executive level to monitor succession plans for talented employees.
The programme is aimed both at specific individuals, who have been identified through their career development plans, and groups of individuals with high potential, all of whom attend a range of management development programmes. Development plans form part of the greater performance management process within the group and are reviewed twice a year.
The group runs an Executive Development Programme (EDP), a Management Development Programme (MDP) and an Intermediate Management Development Programme (IMDP), where younger employees with management potential are identified and given an opportunity to develop their careers.
Study assistance programmes for employees and non-employees are provided across the group to increase the skills pool available to AngloGold Ashanti. In total, $1.98 million was spent on providing bursaries and study assistance to employees and non-employees across the group in 2006.
AngloGold Ashanti aims to deliver training and development widely applicable and transferable – the broad spectrum of programmes ranges from basic literacy and numeracy, through to technical training as well as executive development at top business schools of international repute.
Training for life equips employees or ex-employees with the skills to ensure their continued employability or ability to be self-employed when they are no longer employed by the company. This training is also given in preparation for career endings, both as a result of ill-health or as a result of mine closure. Employees who are retrenched are offered re-training in a skill that will assist them to remain economically active within their community.
The company seeks to remunerate employees fairly at both an individual and a team level. Remuneration levels are set taking into account the market as well as economic and inflation indicators. There is generally an annual review or annual negotiations with the representative unions in respect of those employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.
In South Africa, in particular, by far the majority of remuneration elements, although focused on the individual, are the result of collective bargaining between management and the representative unions. This has given rise to standard rates of pay for the majority of employees (non-supervisory employees, miners and artisans) rather than pay scales in which employees are remunerated for their contribution, as is the case with management and officials. In addition to basic pay, various productivity and safety bonus schemes exist at most operations to both motivate and reward employees and can have a significant impact on basic pay. As well as employee benefits that are legally mandated, the various regions offer health care benefits, pension and provident funds, company vehicles, housing, housing allowances or home ownership schemes, life assurance, tuition assistance, maternity benefits and subsidised canteens, among others.
Mining operations are frequently situated in remote areas; in these cases employees are drawn from other regions (and sometimes other countries). Consequently, they do not have their homes in the area. The provision of company accommodation varies from region to region and is dependent on the availability of accommodation, the make-up of the workforce and the remoteness of the region. In major cities, such as Johannesburg, Denver and Perth, housing is readily available.
The company provides a housing allowance to assist employees to acquire accommodation.
Historically, the South African mining industry has drawn a large percentage of its workforce from countries around South Africa – Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and Botswana – as well as from rural areas within South Africa, such as the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. The majority of these employees prefer to retain their homes in their country or region of origin and to return to their homes during weekends, annual leave periods and at the end of their employment. These employees are accommodated in single accommodation residences which comprise mainly communal rooms (accommodating between four to eight persons per room), catering facilities, visiting families’ units and entertainment and recreational facilities.
A programme is in place to convert the communal rooms into single room accommodation. To date 1,031 single rooms have been created and the plan for 2007 is to create a further 572 single rooms. AngloGold Ashanti also plans to redevelop under-utilised residences into family accommodation and some 86 family units have been completed. A further 127 family units will be developed in 2007.
Meals that are provided in the residence comply with international nutritional standards and are monitored by an independent dietician on a monthly basis.
Health care provision and acceptable levels of care are determined by, among other factors, the existing infrastructure in the areas in which the employees are located. For the distant communities with which AngloGold Ashanti is associated, the focus is on facilitating access to basic care.
AngloGold Ashanti Health, a subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti, provides health care to South African employees. The Vaal River and West Wits areas both have a central hospital providing secondary, and to some extent tertiary level care, surrounded by a network of peripheral primary health care and occupational health clinics. Health care activities which focus on care to employees in these areas and care to immediate dependants, where appropriate, include preventive, occupational, and primary health care; hospital care and the management of trauma; injury on duty; and of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The two occupational health centres are each staffed by two doctors and some 30 support health care practitioners each. The occupational health discipline performs the functions of screening prior to employment, evaluation of baseline health status, surveillance during employment for purposes of early detection of disease (particularly high-risk diseases commonly associated with the mining industry) and directing the management of diseases detected, including the workplace and compensation initiatives required. Each hospital has about 300 beds with emergency rooms, operating theatres and multi-disciplinary intensive care units. Speciality disciplines include internal medicine; general surgery; orthopaedic surgery; ear, nose and throat surgery; radiology; paediatrics; and obstetrics and gynaecology. These clinical disciplines are supported by the allied clinical disciplines of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and clinical psychology, which together ensure comprehensive patient care and rehabilitation. Access to health care is provided to all employees and, in certain circumstances, to their families. All employees not covered by formal medical scheme arrangements have access to health care at company facilities.
See the Regional Health section.
AngloGold Ashanti Annual Report 2006 - Report to Society