Workforce Composition
At the end of 2008, PotashCorp employed 5,301 people, 35 percent of them salaried and 65 percent hourly-paid. In addition, 791 full-time contract employees worked for the company. Almost 60 percent of employees are skilled or semi-skilled craft workers or tradespeople working at our mines and chemical manufacturing facilities.
We added a net 191 positions in our potash division, mostly in Lanigan and Rocanville where expansions are underway. Our nitrogen division added a net 121 positions, most of them at Lima, where we assumed operating responsibility. We sold Fosfatos do Brasil, reducing 82 positions. Every employee at Fosfatos do Brasil received a severance package based on years of service that met or exceeded government standards.
Demographics and Diversity
Gender Composition – Women accounted for almost 9 percent of PotashCorp's workforce in 2008. They were mostly employed in clerical jobs (73 percent of all clerical jobs), sales (23 percent) and professional jobs (21 percent). We had three female board members in 2008.
Ethnic Composition – The ethnic diversity of our workforce was relatively stable over the last five years. We had two minority board members in 2008.
Workforce Activity
Employee Turnover
Although overall company turnover numbers were down, our Trinidad plant lost 69 employees, partially due to the start-up of a urea plant by a competitor. Before this, PotashCorp had the only urea plant in the Caribbean. To attract and retain employees in Trinidad, we maintain a competitive compensation package, provide professional training, elicit employee feedback through engagement initiatives, provide an on-site wellness facility and support an employee social club.
The rise in turnover rate at our Canadian operations, with 161 Canadian employees leaving the company, may be a result of our expansions, as significant increases in hiring activity can lead to additional turnover in the short-term.
Divestitures and Layoffs
We divested our operations at Fosfatos do Brasil where 82 people were employed at the end of 2007. Every employee at Fosfatos do Brasil received a severance package based on years of service that complied with government standards.
PotashCorp did not layoff any employees in 2008.
Absenteeism
Absenteeism is tracked at each site. Many have a policy of meeting with employees with absentee rates above the average.
Employee Benefits
In 2008, all employees became eligible to participate in an annual performance-based bonus program. Prior to this change, hourly employees in the US and Canada were not eligible for a bonus program. The first payout to all employees was in early 2009.
Unionization
Union members comprised 38 percent of our employees in 2008. Sixty percent of union members work in Canada (potash) and 40 percent in the US (36 percent in phosphate, 4 percent in nitrogen). There are no union employees at our Trinidad plant.
The only certification campaign in 2008 was at Aurora, and 21 percent voted for the union, 79 percent against. We negotiated a union contract with the United Steelworkers Union in Lima.
We experienced our first labor disruption since 2001 when approximately 625 employees and members of the United Steelworkers at Cory, Allan and Patience Lake potash mines went on strike in August 2008. While the company was disappointed the workers elected to go on strike, we strove to treat them with respect and dignity throughout the 99-day action. The strike was settled in November 2008 on terms that were aligned with our long-term financial viability.
Training and Lifelong Learning
We provide employee training or education assistance as part of our goal of attracting and retaining quality employees. Opportunities to upgrade skills include internal and external training and tuition assistance for college-level or higher degrees.
In 2008, each PotashCorp employee received an average of 90 hours of training, 57 percent more than in 2007. Most training was done at the plant sites and increased in all categories. Training to improve employees’ workplace effectiveness accounted for almost 40 percent of all training received. The top five training categories were:
- Training to improve job skills (39 percent of training hours provided)
- Safety training (19 percent)
- Crisis and emergency response training (8 percent)
- Apprenticeship training (7 percent)
- Employee development (3 percent)
Workplace Health and Safety
Safety Milestones and Awards
Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees. We passed several safety milestones and received safety awards in 2008.
Injury Rates
In 2008, our lost-time injury frequency rate increased by 84 percent and the recordable injury frequency rate rose by 9 percent. We missed our target of reducing the lost-time injury frequency rate by 20 percent and the recordable injury frequency rate by 15 percent. Severe injuries increased slightly over the previous year. Reducing this rate is a priority; our target is a 25 percent reduction by 2011.
To address this issue, we are helping leaders develop among employees a strong personal safety ethic that is motivated by concern for human life. We have assigned safety professionals full-time to underground operations to conduct hazard assessments, review communication and identify successful work practices and areas of concern. In 2008, we trained four employees to be Behavioral Accident Prevention Process Internal Consultants.
Fatalities
There was one fatality in 2008, at Lanigan.
Emergency Response Competitions
In addition to emergency response competitions in Canada, we had our first internal emergency response competition in the US in 2008.
