Annual report 2015

Železiarne Podbrezová a.s. Annual report 2015 Ensuring a safe working environment, appropriate protec - tive equipment in line with the approved regulations, and constant communication with employee representatives and employees are necessary for maintaining and improving the working environment. The continuous promotion of oc - cupational health and safety, cooperation and regular com - munication with employee representatives responsible for work safety monitoring focused mainly on injury prevention and avoidance are a natural part of our HR management policy. A total of 76 employee representatives from various units monitor the situation continuously and send monthly reports –– a total of 753 were received in 2015. In 2015, we recorded 35 registered occupational injuries, a decrease by 14 compared to the previous year; however, the average treatment time increased significantly from 49 calendar days in 2014 to 80 days in 2015. No injury were classified as a serious occupational injury. ŽP’s Private Secondary Apprentice School of Metallurgy is a source of qualified workers thanks to the high-quality gen - eral and specialist education of its students – future employ - ees: metallurgists, electricians and mechanics, with the skills and abilities required to commence problem-free employ - ment. In 2015, 44 graduates from the school were employed at the Company after the completion of their studies and some will continue studying at universities. In 2013 and 2014, our personnel and educational experts actively participated in drafting and commenting on the Act on Vocational Education and Training, which defines the le - gal framework of dual education and became effective on 1 April 2015. Despite the fact that our Private Secondary Ap - prentice School of Metallurgy was recognised as an exam - ple for secondary vocational education in Slovakia over the entire period, our comments on the Act were not accepted by the experts of the Ministry of Education, Science, Re - search and Sport, or by the legislature of the Slovak Repub - lic. Therefore, we will continue to organise the education of a qualified workforce using time-tested methods. We enjoy long-term cooperation with universities - mainly with the Faculty of Metallurgy of the Technical University in Košice, with which we organise open-door days at our school and at the faculty, where we present study opportu - nities and graduate job opportunities at our Company. The Company offers university scholarships to selected talented secondary school students from our private schools. We co - operate with Matej Bel University, especially with the IT De - partment, in connection with grammar school IT classes and our subsidiary, ŽP Informatika, s.r.o., and with other depart - ments as required. Cooperation with universities is targeted, with the offer of possible scholarships, professional intern - ships, and graduation theses focused on attracting qualified future employees prepared for work at the Company. The Company’s full-time equivalent in 2015 was 3 123 em - ployees, a 3.3% year-on-year decrease. The average monthly income in 2015 was EUR 1 013 per employee, an increase by 5.5% compared to the previous year. The added value work productivity amounted to EUR 20 450 per employee, an increase by 1.8% compared to the previous year. We have an income level 5% higher than the average income for employees in Slovak industry. The aver - age income for 2015 for blue-collar professions was EUR 859 per employee, a 5.1% increase compared to 2014. It is important to note that Železiarne Podbrezová, a.s. is a major employer and its subsidiaries and affiliates em - ployed a further 3 784 employees in 2015, of which 846 were employees in Slovakia in production and services, and 67 were employees in private schools of ŽP. Subsidiaries in the Czech Republic employed 2 675 employees in 2015, and other companies abroad employed 196 employees. In total, the ŽP GROUP employed 6 909 employees in 2015. Our newspaper, Podbrezovan, is the oldest company news - paper in Slovakia and has been published for more than 70 years. It is distributed to both present and retired em - ployees, who receive information about life in the Company on a regular basis. The newspaper is an irreplaceable me - dium for informing Company employees and the general public in the region about operations in the parent company and its subsidiaries and it is published every two-weeks with a circulation of about 6 500 copies. The good reputation of our Company is undoubtedly also increased by our management of Ľupča Castle. Interest in this historical monument continues to grow and in 2015 it had a record number of visitors – 12 870. Report by the Board of Directors on Business Activities, Assets, and Financial Performance in 2015 and Information on the Business Plan 21