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Social

Labor Practices & Decent Work

G3 Indicator

PotashCorp's Performance in 2007

Employment
LA1. Total workforce by employment type, by employment contract, and by region. At the end of 2007, PotashCorp employed 5,003 people, of whom 1,730 were salaried and 3,273 hourly-paid. In addition, 791 temporary and contract employees worked for the company. The workforce is located mainly in the US, Canada, Trinidad and Brazil. Almost 60 percent are skilled or semi-skilled craft workers or trades people.

PotashCorp's Regular Workforce by Employment Category 2007
  # % of Total
Managers 784 15.7
Professionals 518 10.4
Technicians 402 8.0
Sales Workers 36 0.7
Office and Clerical 242 4.8
Skilled Craft Workers 1,396 27.9
Semi-skilled Workers 1,573 31.4
Laborers 43 0.9
Service Workers 9 0.2
Total 5,003 100.0
LA2. Total number and rate of employee turnover broken down by age group, gender and region. Employee turnover at all PotashCorp operations averaged 8.5 percent in 2007, a reduction from 9.0 percent in 2006. The company enjoyed lower turnover in its male labor force, but slightly higher turnover among female employees. Turnover fell in Canada, the US and Brazil, but increased significantly in Trinidad.

Employee Turnover at PotashCorp
(%) 2006 2007

Average Employee Turnover

 9.0 8.5

Turnover by Gender

    
Average Turnover Rate for Male Employees 9.5 8.0
Average Turnover Rate for Female Employees 8.4 8.7

Turnover by Age Group

    
Average Turnover Rate for Employees <30 years old 17.0 11.5
Average Turnover Rate for Employees 30-50 years old 3.5 5.8
Average Turnover Rate for Employees >50 years old 5.0 9.7

Turnover by Country

    
Average Employee Turnover in the US 13.7 9.9
Average Employee Turnover in Canada 7.6 6.5
Average Employee Turnover in Trinidad 3.2 8.8
Average Employee Turnover in Brazil 16.7 11.6
LA3. Minimum benefits provided to full-time employees, which are not provided to temporary or part-time employees.

PotashCorp provides a full range of benefits to its full-time workforce in the US and Canada, including health care, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, disability coverage, pension plans, maternity/parental leave, savings plan, short-term incentive plan and stock ownership through the company's savings plans.

Temporary employees in Canada (but not in the United States) qualify for life insurance, health care, AD&D insurance and parental leave.

Labor Management Relations
LA4. Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. PotashCorp had 1,844 union members in its workforce in 2007, representing 37 percent of its regular employees. There were nine collective bargaining agreements in place in 2007.

Union Membership
  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Union Members 1,639 1,664 1,729 1,782 1,844
Total Regular Employees 4,904 4,906 4,879 4,871 5,003
Unionization as % of Total Regular Employees 33 34 35 37 37
Most union members work in Canada (58.1 percent), followed by the US (37.5 percent) and Brazil (4.4 percent).
LA5. Minimum notice period(s) regarding operational changes. Minimum notice periods vary by jurisdiction and collective bargaining agreements.
  • In Canada, collective bargaining agreements and provincial labor legislation require one to eight weeks' minimum notice for layoffs, usually depending on the employee's length of employment.
  • In the United States, the notice period depends on the circumstances but ranges from two to eight weeks.
  • In Brazil, the minimum notification period is four weeks.

Occupational Health and Safety

LA6. Percentage of workforce
represented in formal joint management worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs.		 The majority of the workforce is represented in joint management-worker health and safety committees. The potash workforce is represented in joint management-worker health and safety committees mandated by regulation. The nitrogen and phosphate workforce have voluntary management-worker committees to address health and safety concerns. All the health and safety committees are located at the individual facilities.
LA7. Rates of injury, lost days, occupational diseases and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities.

Injury Rates

In 2007, the lost time injury rate was reduced by 48 percent from the previous year to a record low 0.20. Despite record performance for the recordable injury rate in both the nitrogen and phosphate divisions, diminished performance in the potash division in 2007 meant that the company-wide rate was 9 percent higher than the record low achieved in 2006.

Injury Frequency Rates

(per 200,000 work hours) 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Lost-time Injury Frequency Rate 0.28 0.26 0.36 0.39 0.20
Recordable Injury Frequency Rate 2.21 1.93 2.35 1.79 1.94

Absenteeism

The absenteeism rate averaged 3.5 percent across all PotashCorp's operating units in 2007. Over the past five years, absenteeism rates have declined in the phosphate division, fluctuated in the nitrogen division and increased in the potash division.

Absenteeism
Division 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Potash 4.7 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.4
Nitrogen 3.2 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.9
Phosphate 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.1 1.8
All Production Sites 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.5

Fatalities

There were no fatalities at PotashCorp's operations in 2007.
LA8. Education, training, counseling, prevention and risk-control programs in place for assisting workforce members, their families or community members regarding serious diseases.

Elements of PotashCorp's Programs for Serious Diseases*
  US Canada Trinidad Brazil
Education and Training for Workers Yes Yes Yes Yes
Education and Training for Workers' Families Yes Yes Yes** No
Counseling for Workers Yes Yes Yes Yes
Counseling for Workers' Families Yes Yes Yes** No
Measures to limit exposure and transmission of disease among workers No Yes Yes Yes
Measures to limit exposure and transmission of disease among workers' families No No Yes** No
Treatment provided to workers Yes Yes Yes Yes
Treatment provided to workers' families Yes Yes Yes** Yes
Community programs No No Yes** No
*Serious diseases could include diabetes, RSI, stress, HIV/AIDS, etc.
**as applicable
LA9. Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions. The following health and safety topics are covered by all local agreements with trade unions:
  • Personal protective equipment;
  • Joint management-employee health and safety committee;
  • Participation of worker representatives in health and safety inspections, audits and accident investigations;
  • Complaints mechanism;
  • Arrangements or structures for resolving problems; and
  • Commitments regarding target performance standards or level of practice to apply.
In addition, many agreements also cover the following health and safety topics:
  • Training and education;
  • Right to refuse unsafe work; and
  • Periodic inspections.

Training and Education

LA10. Average hours of training per year per employee broken down by employee category.

In 2007, each PotashCorp employee received an average of 57 hours of training.

The top five training categories were:

  • Training to improve job skills (37 percent of training hours provided);
  • Safety training (18 percent);
  • Crisis and emergency response training (10 percent);
  • Apprenticeship training (7 percent); and
  • Employee development (6 percent).
Almost all employees in all employment categories received some training in 2007. The type of training is not tracked by employment category.
LA11. Programs for skills management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings.

PotashCorp provides internal training courses, funding support for external training, and tuition assistance for college-level degrees. In 2007, the company assisted 90 employees across the company with tuition reimbursements totaling $146,424.

PotashCorp provides only a limited amount of transitional assistance to support employees who are leaving the company for reasons of retirement or termination. The approach varies from country to country.

Transition Assistance Programs

Program

Program Is Provided

  US Canada Trinidad Brazil
Pre-Retirement Planning for Intended Retirees Yes As required As required No
Retraining for Those Intending to Continue Working No No No No
Job Placement Services As required As required No No
Training/Counseling for Non-Working Life No No As required No
Severance Pay As required As required Covered by other plans No
LA12. Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews. In 2007, 72 percent of eligible employees received performance reviews.  

Diversity and Equal Opportunity

LA13. Composition of Board and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity.

Breakdown of Employees by Job Category and Age

The following table shows the breakdown of employees in PotashCorp's main employment categories by gender and by age group.

PotashCorp's Diversity by Employment Category 2007
  # of
Employees
in Category		 Employees
< 30 years
old as % of
Category		 Employees
30-50 years
old as % of
Category		 Employees
>50 years
old as % of
Category
Managers/
Supervisors		 784 1 47 52
Professionals 518 13 54 33
Technicians 402 28 46 26
Sales Workers 36 6 44 50
Office and Clerical 242 10 44 46
Skilled Craft Workers 1,396 7 46 47
Semi-skilled Workers 1,573 22 52 26
Laborers 43 42 49 9
Service 9 11 33 56
Total 5,003 13 49 38

Minority Group Representation

At present, PotashCorp tracks the ethnic composition of its workforce only at its US, Trinidad, and Brazil operations.

Workforce Demographics by Employment Category at PotashCorp's US, Trinidad and Brazil Operations 2007

(%) White Black Hispanic Asian American Indian Total
Managers 86.9 7.2 1.6 4.3 n/a 100.0
Professionals 49.0 20.7 3.0 27.3 n/a 100.0
Technicians 34.0 30.4 1.9 33.7 n/a 100.0
Sales 86.1 8.3 5.6 n/a n/a 100.0
Clerical 76.9 15.0 3.1 5.0 n/a 100.0
Skilled 83.9 15.6 0.2 0.1 0.2 100.0
Semi-skilled 74.0 25.2 0.4 n/a 0.4 100.0
Laborers/Service 73.7 26.3 n/a n/a n/a 100.0
Total 72.5 18.8 1.1 7.4 0.2 100.0

Gender Diversity in Management

The percentage of management positions held by women increased from 10 percent to 13 percent between 2003 and 2007. The percentage of senior management positions held by women increased from 31 percent to 38 percent over the same period.

Board Diversity

Board diversity has been increasing over the past few years. The Board of Directors had 12 members at the end of 2007. Three members were female, and two were from minority groups. Ten directors were over age 50, and two were between the ages of 30 and 50.
LA14. Ratio of average remuneration of men and women broken down by employee category. PotashCorp does not track this information.

Human Rights Performance

G3 Indicator

PotashCorp's Human Rights Performance in 2007
HR1. Percentage and number of significant investment agreements that include human rights clauses or that underwent human rights screening. PotashCorp gives consideration to human rights issues as part of its investment decisions. No significant investments (acquisitions) were made in 2007.
HR2. Percentage of major suppliers and contractors that underwent screening on
human rights and actions taken.		 PotashCorp has identified 380 suppliers as "key vendors." Documentation on human rights policies has been received from all of these key vendors. No companies have had to be delisted for their human rights performance.
HR3. Total hours of employee training on policies and procedures concerning aspects of human rights relevant to operations, including the percentage of employees trained. PotashCorp has taken steps to ensure all employees are aware of and understand its values and commitments to human rights. Every year, all employees are asked to confirm in writing that they have read the PotashCorp Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct, and will comply with the provisions of each of its policies. In 2007 a total of 4,245 PotashCorp employees (85 percent of the workforce) took the Core Values and Code of Conduct training module.
HR4. Incidents of discrimination and actions taken. There were no substantiated claims of discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin in 2007.
HR5. Operations identified in which the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at risk and actions taken to support these rights. The right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining is respected by PotashCorp at all of its operations. No operations have been identified where these rights are at risk.
HR6. Operations identified as having significant risk for incidents of child labor and measures taken to contribute to the elimination of child labour. There have been no incidents of child labor in any of PotashCorp's operations. PotashCorp surveys all of its operations annually to establish the age of the youngest employees in each of its facilities. Employees in all jurisdictions are significantly older than the legal minimum ages in those jurisdictions. None of PotashCorp's operations have been identified as being at significant risk for incidents of child labor and/or young workers exposed to hazardous work.

Societal Performance

G3 Indicator

PotashCorp's Performance in 2007

Community

SO1. Programs and practices for assessing and managing the impacts of operations on communities, including entering, operating and exiting. PotashCorp participates on community advisory panels, hosts meetings with neighbors, surveys residents in host communities and has many meetings with elected and regulatory officials as part of its broad interaction with its communities and their representatives. These provide opportunities to address concerns and alert communities to changes in operations. In 2007, the company held 174 meetings with community representatives.

Corruption
SO2. Number of business units analyzed for risks related to corruption. PotashCorp conducted an independent high-level review in 2005 to identify potential fraud vulnerabilities. The assessment determined that the risk of a fraud-related event occurring at PotashCorp is low.
SO3. Percentage of employees trained in organization's anti-corruption policies and procedures. PotashCorp has taken steps to ensure its employees are aware of and understand its policy against bribery. Every year, all employees are asked to confirm in writing that they have read the PotashCorp Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct, and will comply with the provisions of each of its policies.
SO4. Actions taken in response to instances of corruption. No PotashCorp employees were dismissed or disciplined for corruption in 2007. There were no instances where contracts with business partners were not renewed due to violations related to corruption. There were no concluded legal cases regarding corrupt practices brought against the company or its employees.

Public Policy
SO5. Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying. In 2007, PotashCorp worked principally through The Fertilizer Institute to address or lobby for the following issues:
  • Proposed Climate Change legislation - PotashCorp is providing comments through The Fertilizer Institute to ensure that legislature is based on good science.
  • "Energy Independence and Security Act" - This law increases the biofuels/ethanol mandate in the US to 36 billion gallons by 2022. PotashCorp supports this legislation.
  • "Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007" - The company supports the need to have standardized regulations that ensure ammonium nitrate supplies are secure and safe from those who would use this product for destructive causes.
  • "The National Environment and Energy Development Act" - PotashCorp supported this Act which seeks to terminate long-standing federal prohibitions on the domestic production of abundant offshore supplies of natural gas.
  • "Farm, Nutrition and BioEnergy Act of 2007" - PotashCorp supported the final Act which contained language favorable to US agriculture and the fertilizer industry.
SO6. Total value of contributions to political parties or related institutions broken down by country.

In 2007, the US Political Action Committee, funded by company employees, made financial contributions totaling $12,000. In addition, one PAC contribution was made in North Carolina which totaled $1,000.

In Canada, PotashCorp's political contributions totaled $2,781. This was used primarily to purchase fundraising tickets for each of the three Saskatchewan political parties.

In both Trinidad and Brazil, the company made no financial contributions to any political organizations.

PotashCorp does not make in-kind contributions to political parties.

Anti-Competitive Behavior

SO7. Total number of legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, antitrust and monopoly practices and their outcomes. In 2007, there were no legal cases pending or completed regarding anti-competitive behavior or violations of antitrust and monopoly legislation in which PotashCorp was identified as a participant.

Compliance
SO8. Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance. No significant fines or non-monetary sanctions were levied against PotashCorp in 2007 related to accounting fraud or corruption.

Product Responsibility Performance

G3 Indicator

PotashCorp's Performance in 2007

Customer Health and Safety
PR1. Life cycle stages in which health and safety impacts of products are assessed for improvements.   PotashCorp has procedures in place for assessing and ensuring health and safety at most of the production and marketing stages of the product life cycle. Disposal is not an issue, since fertilizer, as a product, does not pose problems for disposal, and cannot be re-used or recycled after use.
PR2. Number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations/codes concerning health and safety of products. PotashCorp had no instances of non-compliance, administrative or judicial sanctions, warnings or fines concerning the health and safety of its products in 2007.

Product Labeling

PR3. Procedures for product information and labeling.

PotashCorp meets product registration and labeling requirements in all its markets. PotashCorp is subject to feed and fertilizer labeling requirements in most jurisdictions where it makes or sells its products. As a result, it can provide information on sourcing; product content; and the safe use and disposal of the product.

Product labels are reviewed regularly to ensure they comply with all laws and regulations.
PR4. Number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations/codes concerning product information and labeling. There were no instances of non-compliance with regulations concerning product information and labeling in 2007. There were no fines or warnings involving the company.
PR5. Practices related to customer satisfaction, including results of surveys measuring customer satisfaction.

PotashCorp conducts annual customer surveys. The information provides the basis for setting targets for improvement in areas of customer satisfaction.

Based on results of the 2007 customer surveys, PotashCorp outperformed all its competitors in customer service in all four product groups, outperformed all competitors for product quality for two product groups, finished second of eight competitors in fertilizer quality ratings and third in purified phosphoric acid quality ratings.

Marketing Communications
PR6. Programs for adherence to laws, standards, and voluntary codes related to marketing communications including advertising, promotion and sponsorship. The Company's long-standing practice is to ensure that all advertising undergoes extensive internal review for technical accuracy and legal compliance.  
PR7. Number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations concerning marketing communications including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. There were no instances of non-compliance with regulations concerning marketing communications (including advertising, promotion and sponsorship) in 2007.  

Customer Privacy

PR8. Number of substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and loss of customer data. There were no instances of leaks, thefts or losses of customer data in 2007. There were no complaints received concerning breaches of customer privacy.
PR9. Value of significant fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning the use of products. There were no administrative or judicial sanctions or fines levied against PotashCorp in 2007 for failure to comply with laws or regulations concerning the provision and use of its products.
Source: PotashCorp