Hudbay’s employees are the key to our success. Through their experience, energy and dedication, and their embodiment of our values, they enable us to grow and develop our business. Our commitment to the people who work on our behalf is to provide a safe, healthy work environment and the opportunity for each employee to thrive as a member of our team.

Health and Safety

We make it a priority to always protect the health and safety of our employees and contractors, and the people who live near our operations.

Building a culture dedicated to zero harm begins with ensuring everyone who works at our sites has the necessary knowledge, skills and equipment needed to work safely, and having leaders who empower their teams and encourage them to speak up.

Our Environmental Health and Safety Policy states we will manage risks in a manner that provides a safe, healthy workplace. Within two years of reaching commercial production, all operations are required to be certified to OHSAS 18001, an internationally accepted standard for occupational health and safety management systems. We apply the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Safety and Health assessment protocol of the Mining Association of Canada, which we also use to assess and measure our performance. Regular monitoring, self-assessments and tri-annual third-party audits ensure operations remain in compliance with these standards and protocols throughout the life of the operation.

Our safety programs provide specifically structured training for the activities undertaken, whether at an operation, exploration site, office location, or for visitors to the mine site. Emergency response teams receive specialized training that prepares them to mobilize quickly during an event at a mine site.

While no workplace fatalities have occurred at any of our operations, projects or exploration sites in recent years, our focus on fatality prevention remains steadfast. Through critical risk and critical control (CRCC) management plans, our operations identify top fatality risks and the key controls for managing them.

We record, investigate and analyze incidents and conformance to our standards using an integrated software system. Significant incidents, based on criteria set by the Board, are reported to our Board quarterly. Incidents that could have resulted in a fatality are identified in our systems and require more in-depth investigations and corrective actions.

Our efforts to continuously improve our safety and health performance are supported by: the Visible Felt Leadership program, where leaders engage with employees and take accountability for their teams’ safety; our high-potential incident investigation process; and our occupational health programs, which monitor exposures to health risks such as hearing loss and illnesses caused by airborne agents. As an active member of the Mining Safety Round Table, we engage with other mining companies to share lessons learned and best practices, with the aim of raising the safety performance of the entire industry.

Employee Relations

We are dedicated to making Hudbay an employer of choice.

Our Code of Conduct states our commitment to fostering a work environment that treats all individuals with dignity and respect and one that does not discriminate or tolerate harassment or violence. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we offer competitive pay and benefits at all our operating sites and locations. With more than three-quarters of our workforce (approximately 1,300 employees) represented by a union, we work to constructively engage with the eight unions that represent our employees, and to partner with them on solutions that create mutual benefit.

Fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace is another important and growing focus. Our mine sites aim to hire a workforce that mirrors the community in which they operate, and we are committed to increasing opportunities for women. We support the Catalyst Accord 2022 and the 30% Club, both of which call for the advancement of women in business. Female representation on our Board of Directors has achieved the 30% or higher target, and we are working to increase the percentage of women in management. In 2017, Hudbay received the Government of Canada’s 2017 Employment Equity Achievement Award in recognition of our efforts to achieve employment equity in the workplace.

We use numerous channels and tools to engage employees and keep them informed about important business matters. These include town hall meetings, internal emails from senior leaders, and an internal intranet with employee-focused news and updates.

With a large number of employees eligible for retirement, especially in our Manitoba Business Unit, our retirement readiness programs provide information and tools that prepare employees for success once they leave the workforce.

Organizational Development

At the beginning of the year, we launched a company-wide strategic approach to develop clear, effective organizational systems and structures that will support our successful growth. This comprehensive system, which forms the foundation of our OneHudbay culture, will support our talent development efforts by aligning people with the roles that best suit their abilities, talents and interests. In addition, the project will better measure our effectiveness and define accountabilities so that everyone can contribute to growing and developing the business.

During the year, we made progress on some important components of this approach. We completed organizational design work and talent reviews at the corporate office and at the Manitoba and Peru business units. We developed a more comprehensive process for talent development and succession planning. Other elements include a revised performance management and measurement system and a managerial coaching program.

In addition to hiring a Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness to advance the project, we hired a Vice President of Exploration and a Vice President of Technical Services to support the growth strategy, optimize our portfolio and develop our project pipeline.