Respecting employee rights

Nornickel gives every employee equal opportunities to exercise their labour rights. This includes non‑discriminatory access to employment, equal opportunities for professional growth, a safe working environment, and protection from all forms of forced or unfair labour.

Throughout its operations, the Company consistently addresses socially significant challenges to improve working conditions and enhance the quality of life for employees and their families. Employee support programmes in place at the Company provide access to healthcare services, educational and housing initiatives, and a range of social benefits.

Working conditions

In accordance with the Russian Labour Code and the Working Conditions Policy, the Company guarantees its employees the following.

Nornickel employees are entitled to a 28‑day paid annual basic leave and additional paid leaves for those working in the Far North and equivalent regions, exposed to adverse and/or hazardous working conditions, or as otherwise provided by law. Employees may reschedule or split up their leaves, subject to agreement with their supervisors.

On an annual basis, the Company covers round‑trip travel to a holiday destination for employees in the Far North and equivalent regions and their families, including associated baggage fees.

Made with Care

Nornickel believes that comfortable working conditions and workplace amenities reduce work‑related injuries, enhance employee motivation and engagement, and improve their health.

For more than 20 years, the Company has been running Made with Care, a workplace welfare facility repair programme aiming to provide employees with comfortable working conditions.

In 2024, the programme set a new record for the number of facilities renovated, the scope of work completed, and the number of employees whose working conditions were significantly improved.

Collective bargaining agreement

Nornickel and its Russian business units make sure that their employees are free to form and join trade unions of their choice, and respect their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Employees may exercise this right without prior authorisation and without fear of pressure, intimidation, or retaliation.

In 2024, the collective bargaining agreements of MMC Norilsk Nickel and three other Group entities were extended for three years. The updated agreements stepped up targeted support for certain employee categories (e.g. revising financial assistance limits, expanding guarantees for employees with disabilities, increasing reimbursement levels for employees’ relocation costs after terminating their employment in the Far North, and more). During collective bargaining, representatives of employees and the employer agreed to extend for another three years the existing collective bargaining agreement, keeping all guarantees, compensations, and social programmes unchanged.

Maternity and childhood protection

Nornickel fosters conditions that enable employees to successfully balance their professional responsibilities with a fulfilling family life. The Company considers dismissal or discrimination based on pregnancy or marital status unacceptable, guarantees the right to parental leave, and provides support during childbirth and child‑rearing. In addition, the Company carries out initiatives aimed at supporting and promoting the development of employees’ children.

Nornickel supports the leisure and health of employees’ children aged 8 to 14 by providing them with subsidised summer camp vouchers. The programme is aimed at organising recreation for unaccompanied children in specialised childcare facilities located in regions with favourable climate conditions. In 2024, a total of 1,656 children of Nornickel employees spent their summer holidays at specialised childcare facilities, including a recreation camp in Anapa and a session for a sports team held at the Universiade Village in Kazan.

Health and safety

Employee health and safety is one of Nornickel’s strategic priorities. This priority is set out in the Company’s three corporate values, the 2030 Socially Sustainable Development Strategy, Key Focus Areas in Occupational Health and Safety for 2023–2025, and MMC Norilsk Nickel’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy.

Achieving zero fatalities is a public goal of the Company. The increase in lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) from 2020 is associated with a new approach to recording, classifying, and investigating accidents. Following another update to the Golden Rules of Safety, the Company has tightened penalties for concealing work‑related accidents starting in 2021. In this way, Nornickel seeks to obtain complete information on all injuries in order to promptly analyse, respond, and mitigate health and safety risks.

Care for health

Nornickel also pays particular attention to the health of its employees by providing access to high‑quality and timely medical care.

Multidisciplinary medical centres operate at the Kola site and in the Norilsk Industrial District for Group employees and their covered relatives, with appointments available under both VHI and CHI policies. Before starting their working day (shift), employees undergo pre‑shift and pre‑trip check‑ups. Dental services are available at three medical aid stations at Nornickel’s production sites.

Corporate Healthcare project

The Company has in place the Corporate Healthcare project across its key regions of operation, designed to set up a network of advanced healthcare centres with the latest medical equipment and highly qualified professionals.

As at the end of 2024, 31 medical facilities and 4 healthcare centres were put into operation. Performance of healthcare facilities in the Norilsk Industrial District and the Kola site from December 2021 to 31 December 2024:

Housing programmes

The Company runs housing programmes (Our Home / My Home and Your Home) offering employees the opportunity to acquire apartments in the Moscow and Tver Regions, Krasnodar Territory, and Yaroslavl on special terms.