Acron’s CEO Vladimir Kunitsky and Chair of the chemical industry’s primary trade union organisation (Roskhimprofsoyuz) Stanislav Melnikov have signed a new three-year collective agreement covering all of the Company’s employees and veterans of labour.
The agreement’s main objectives are developing and maintaining social and employment relations that further the stability and effectiveness of operations, improving employees’ standard of living, and maintaining a positive working environment.
The new agreement preserves all the main guarantees and benefits, from wage indexation and meal allowances to paid leave and financial assistance, including length of service benefits, a special programme for retirees, and aid to the Company’s former employees and veterans of labour.
High-quality health care programmes for employees will also remain in place. In 2020, Acron’s health care expenses increased 4.6% and the cost of voluntary health insurance went up 37%.
The Company provides employees with access to health resorts and allocated RUB 13 million for this purpose in 2020. Every year, Acron’s employees receive vouchers to use the in-house health and recreation centre, which is equipped with cutting-edge medical equipment. The Company takes a holistic approach to occupational health, providing employees with healthy meals and programmes that help them reach their fitness goals and stay involved in sports and cultural initiatives.
Additionally, Acron supports and develops social infrastructure. In 2020 alone, the Company allocated a total of RUB 303 million for this purpose.
In order to ensure labour safety and occupational health, the agreement includes a provision on labour-safety cooperation between the Company and the trade union providing for a special assessment of working conditions, free transportation to the work site, and compensation for a significant portion of the cost of meals.
Mr Kunitsky believes that these features of the agreement strengthen the Company. ‘Acron is considered an attractive employer in the Novgorod region because it offers social support to employees and their families, which offers certainty in creating a stable future’.
Mr Melnikov commented: ‘The collective agreement is a document that covers all aspects of social support for the Company’s employees. We are glad that it preserves all the social benefits and guarantees that are an important element of the Company’s support programme for employees and their families’.
In 2019, Acron Group invested over RUB 680 million in social programmes under its collective agreements, including RUB 67 million for medical services covered by voluntary health insurance, over RUB 81 million for health resorts and sports and recreation camps for employees and their families, over RUB 47 million as partial payment for children’s health centres, RUB 42 million in meal allowances, RUB 29 million to improve housing conditions for employees, RUB 41.5 million to support the Group’s veterans of labour, and RUB 226.8 million to support social facilities.