Social

During the year, a third-party audit by a leading industry expert confirmed that all relevant Exxaro policies fully complied with South Africa’s Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998.

Exxaro’s employment equity reports for the period 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008, as submitted to the Department of employment equity reports for the period 1 October 2007 Labour, reflect the following level of representation per occupational level by designated groups (historically disadvantaged South Africans or HDSAs – blacks, coloureds, Indians and white females as per mining charter definition) and split between permanent and temporary employees:

Employment equity – 1 October 2007 – 30 September 2008

Labour relations
Almost 80% of Exxaro’s employees are represented by affiliated unions, predominantly National Union of Mineworkers (NUM 69,8%), and Solidarity (7,0%). Other recognised unions are Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), National Union of Metalworkers in South Africa (NUMSA), and United Association of South Africa (UASA).

Negotiations for improvement of wages and conditions of employment are done in-house and through the Chamber of Mines.

Exxaro has a disciplinary code that is used when necessary. The code is based on the principle of fairness as required by labour law. Supervisors have the skill to implement the code.

Through collective bargaining, employees receive several benefits beyond minimum legislative requirements below. Conditions of employment for employees in bargaining units are centrally negotiated each year.

• Retirement fund membership subsidised by the employer
• Medical aid membership subsidised by the employer
• Housing allowance/company accommodation
• Guaranteed annual bonuses/13th cheque for bargaining unit employees
• Travel allowances
• Annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, family responsibility leave
• Incentive schemes, share appreciation rights schemes, standby and call-out allowances, etc as well as payment for overtime worked.

Retirement and other benefits for all permanent employees are provided by independent defined contribution funds. The employer contribution to retirement funds in the group employees are represented ranges from 10% to 18% of employee pensionable earnings, and is expensed as it is occurred. All retirement funds are governed by the South African Pension Funds Act (1956), with no members on defined-benefit plans.

The group continues to focus on home ownership. To comply with the mining charter and our own business needs, a new long-term housing strategy has been developed. While Exxaro’s employees receive a housing or living-out allowance to assist them in obtaining accommodation. Land has been made available for housing at Grootegeluk where some 800 units will be built over the next four years.

Housing categories

Where meals are provided, the quality and nutritional value of these meals are determined by a dietician. Qualified staff continually monitor the fulfilment of contractual obligations. Employees have accessible mechanisms to, engage both management and suppliers on food issues.

While employment equity is certainly a legal issue, with strict targets imposed by both the mining charter and the government’s black economic empowerment codes, for Exxaro it is also a moral imperative.

At the heart of our employment equity strategy are detailed plans developed by each business unit in consultation with employees and unions. These are updated and progress reported quarterly to the board and annually to government.

By following these plans, each unit ensures that recruitment and skills development are conducted responsibly, promoting transformation without affecting existing positions in the company. Each business unit has a formally assigned senior manager for employment equity, and an employment equity forum that is responsible for ensuring appropriate plans are developed, executed, monitored and communicated to employees.

Pleasingly, and despite the shortage of skills, Exxaro has exceeded 2009 mining charter targets ahead of time in both the management and women in core mining categories. This reflects the constant focus on internal promotion, individual development and skills retention in our aim to be a preferred employer.

Women in mining initiatives

Women in mining initiatives were established and implemented to attract women to work in the core business of the company. A committee representing all the business units of Exxaro has been established to implement and to execute these initiatives.

HDSA representation in all
management catagories

Women (all levels)

Improving quality of life is fundamental to the projects we support and the partnerships we initiate

• Skills development and capacity building
• Formal education
• Enterprise development
• Health and welfare
• Environmental stewardship.

To ensure we achieve our strategy, we believe it is important to create public-private partnerships on all our projects. These partnerships are mainly informal although, during the year, Exxaro has had discussions with government on integrating formal public-private partnerships from 2009.

At each of our operations, social and labour plans were developed by engaging and consulting with relevant authorities and communities. These plans focus on communities close to our operations, the source of 70% of our workforce on average, to ensure they benefit from the mine’s presence in multiple ways.

It is group policy to actively recruit labour from local communities wherever possible. Training initiatives concentrate on developing the skills of community members to fulfil the group's requirements.

In 2008, no significant fines or sanctions for non-compliance with labour laws or regulations were imposed.

% spend on socio-economic
focus areas by Exxaro Chairman's
Fund and Exxaro Foundation 2008

In 2008, Exxaro spent R19,8 million on socio-economic development projects, which includes over R5 million in donations.