Even during the deep recession of 2022, we realised that our main task was to preserve our skilled team. This helped us maintain our leadership potential and, as the market recovered, we managed to quickly restore the utilisation rate of our production capacity. Caring for the Company’s employees and their families has been and remains a key and promising tool for creating a healthy environment and retaining staff.
We are committed to providing each employee with decent working conditions and fair remuneration. Employee salaries are annually indexed to at least the inflation rate and are also reviewed by job category in the event of deviations from the competitive market level, and 2024 was no exception. In 2024, we introduced a new approach to the social package with a cafeteria benefit plan, which gives employees the freedom to choose the benefits and preferences they need.
At Global Ports, we are creating an environment for professional and career growth. A talent pool programme covering a wide range of line managers and key specialists has been introduced at the Holding’s terminals. It allows employees to develop expertise and attain new levels of responsibility. The Corporate Ladder leadership development programme is also being implemented for management.
It is important for us to provide our terminals with human resources in the long term. To this end, Global Ports actively cooperates with specialised educational institutions in St. Petersburg and the Far East, is involved in the educational process, and takes on students for on-the-job training. Many graduates then go on to work at the Company’s terminals. A systematic approach is crucial in this work, so in 2024 we developed a strategy for working with students. During the reporting year, Global Ports reached a new level of cooperation with its long-standing partner Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping after concluding a network cooperation agreement for the joint training of specialists in a number of fields.
Global Ports paid special attention to occupational health and safety in 2024. Since 2020, safety culture has been at the core of the Company’s safety development strategy. In 2024, the Company approved a Regulation on Safety Culture, which defines occupational health and safety issues as a priority for each employee regardless of position, and for the first time a comprehensive assessment of the safety culture level was conducted. Almost 1,200 employees underwent occupational health and safety training programmes in 2024, with a total of RUB 4.4 million spent for these purposes. We managed to significantly reduce the number of injuries and had a LTIFR of 0.53 in 2024. Global Ports did not have a single fatality among its employees or contractors in the reporting year.
An important part of taking care of our employees is providing support for their families. As part of a programme to increase the birth rate and support motherhood and childhood, the Holding employs a set of financial and non-financial support measures for families with children. In addition, employees receive payments of RUB 1 million for the birth of a third or any subsequent children. The programme was initiated by our shareholder Delo Group.
As regards corporate governance, Global Ports is improving its processes based on Russian legislation. The Company officially acquired the status of a Russian legal entity in 2024. Since then, we have actively adopted and adapted the best management practices of Russian public companies.