2010
AMBATOVY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
47
C4. Labour Practices and Decent Work
The strategic foundation of Ambatovy’s training program is
investment in creating local skills. Malagasy workers have
received construction, technical and administrative training to
ensure that national employees and managers are an integral
part of the operations phase. During 2010, there were 3,547
registrations for a wide range of courses, such as languages,
office administration and area-specific training. In addition,
107 maintenance technicians completed training for skilled
trade positions, such as electricians, millwrights, instrument
technicians, welders, pipefitters and planners. Also, 32
apprentices were cross-trained as port operators. This was in
addition to the 115 maintenance technicians who had been
trained in 2009.
Table 14: Skilled Maintenance Training
Maintenance Training
2009
2010
Electricians
15
15
Instrument technicians
17
18
Millwrights
41
31
Welders
14
15
Pipefitters
15
17
Planners
8
6
Total
110
102
Specialized Training for Operations and Maintenance
The Ambatovy Training Centre was inaugurated in Toamasina
in 2010. The centre has two large, fully equipped workshops
for operations and maintenance training. Technical training
courses last six to eight months followed by complementary
preparation involving health and safety practices, language
classes, information technology modules and practical work.
The Training Department has a team of 35 comprised of
trainers, sector-training coordinators and training advisors.
Technical Excellence Program
Qualified local applicants for highly technical positions are
difficult to find. As a result, Ambatovy decided to make
significant investments to increase local hiring for these
positions. In 2011, Ambatovy will launch its Technical
Excellence Program, an initiative that consists of 18 months
of training and a two-month internship for young people from
technical colleges in the Atsinanana Region. Over time, this
will ensure graduates have the necessary skills to replace
foreign workers who have come to help with Project start-
up. Between 2011 and 2014, Ambatovy plans to train 216
operators for the plant site.
Training in the Community
Ambatovy is developing capacity-building initiatives that will
provide vocational skills training to technical college teachers
in Moramanga and Toamasina. In addition, Ambatovy is
working in close collaboration with technical institutes in
Moramanga and Toamasina to provide short-term internships
for students in various fields.
C4.6 Diversity and Equal Opportunity
Our construction and preparations for operations involve
a wide variety of trades and unskilled labourers. The
construction sector has traditionally been male-dominated in
Madagascar. However, we are committed to attracting and
retaining top-quality candidates, regardless of gender, and
have policies in place to ensure that women in the workplace
are treated fairly. Ambatovy offers the same standard salary
range to men and women and we have a maternity policy that
provides paid leave and benefits to female employees as they
manage both work and family.
Table 15: Ratio of Male and Female Employees per Pay Grade Level
18
Level
Females
Males
1
4.08%
95.90%
2
1.37%
98.60%
3
13.77%
86.20%
4
12.45%
87.60%
5
18.63%
81.40%
6
30.97%
69.00%
7
34.67%
65.30%
8A
35.78%
64.20%
8B
17.44%
82.60%
9
5.71%
94.30%
10
30.77%
69.20%
11
12.50%
87.50%
14
19
0.00% 100.00%
Average
16.78%
83.22%
18
Refers to national operations employees only.
19
At the end of December 2010, there were no employees that fell within levels 12 and 13 of the employment scale.
