2003 Inco Social Responsibility Report

Indonesia

Newfoundland and Labrador

Committed to Our Employees

Commitment to our employees has long been a hallmark of our Thompson Operations.

We were one of the first companies in Canada to introduce an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP). Launched in 1990, our EAP was created because of need and Thompson’s remoteness where some people had few resources to turn to if they needed financial, social, domestic, or substance dependency assistance. Confidential by design, our EAP co-ordinator is selected by our company with input from the union.

As we strive to promote the well-being of our employees, we also endeavour to provide them with the skills and training they need to do their jobs effectively and safely.

In 2003, for instance, we introduced a four-year apprenticeship program for heavy-duty mechanics, industrial mechanics and industrial electricians. This is to address current recruitment challenges and significant retirement projections.

During the same year, we also began a process of restructuring our training and development areas with the goal of increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

Gary Unrau (left) and Bryan Ransom review the results of a recently mined block and the importance of dilution control. Mentoring is the foundation for safety at Birchtree Mine, according to Superintendent Rob Platford.

We worked with union representatives to develop a new concept in training at Thompson. It involves recruiting and training instructors from our bargaining unit. On a day-to-day basis, these training instructors will have a number of responsibilities including the creation, maintenance and delivery of training materials in the classroom and the workplace. They also will be responsible for delivering the proper orientation, safety and skills training to new employees.

�The introduction of the training instructor role is the next step in our plan to construct a world-class training function in the Thompson Operations,� says Mark Scott, Superintendent of Human Resource Development.

Adds Les Ellsworth, United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 6166 Vice-President and Health and Safety Co-chair, “The training instructor role is a critical one for the safety of our workers.”

Collaboration with the Steelworkers has also resulted in the development of a new workplace seminar called "Building Respectful Workplaces". “The vast majority of our employees have now completed the two-hour anti-harassment seminar,” says Shane Mosley, Superintendent of Human Resources at Thompson. “It’s designed to raise awareness of harassment issues and legislation and encourage respect for one another.”