Boskalis Sustainability Report 2020

52

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION Boskalis is proudly Dutch in its origins but with its global operations is an international employer; this has opened up opportunities to attract talent from around the world. We actively seek out the best talent to keep us at the forefront of our industry and one of our challenges in the coming years will be to keep finding, and retaining that talent. We work to ensure that Boskalis is a company that is attractive to the most talented individuals, at every stage of their career, from graduates to skilled and experienced specialists. Recognizing the importance of diversity and the role of unconscious bias, in 2020 we developed an Objective Assessment model for trainees, setting profiles based on competencies without prior knowledge about the applicant. We are a truly international team, with employees of over 84 different nationalities. We are also well-balanced in terms of our age profile. 73% of our employees are under 50, with 59% in the 30-50 age range. As a result, we have a good distribution of career opportunities, from junior through to senior positions. The employee population of Boskalis, partly due to the nature of the business activities, is predominately male, especially in the core processes on the fleet and in the projects. Our male to female ratio of 86:14 remained the same in 2020 compared to 2019. In our head office, the amount of women increased by 3% points in 2020 with a male female ratio of 71:29. The nature of our work means that a very high proportion of our staff is project-based, or is on vessels. Many of our trained technical, financial and maritime staff work on projects in remote locations for long periods of time. The ratio of operational staff (fleet, yards and projects) to management and office support staff is 65:35. The majority of our managers and support staff is based in our head office in the Netherlands.

The importance of diversity is reflected within our Human Rights and Labor Policy. We do not accept discrimination in the workplace, and we have a strong practice throughout the organization of equal opportunities for all, regardless of race, color, nationality, ethnic background, age, religion, political opinion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, trade union membership, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. RESPONSIBLE LABOR PRACTICES All over the world our employees devote a considerable amount of their time, knowledge and expertise to Boskalis. It is therefore our responsibility to comply with applicable national and international employment laws and standards, including respecting the conventions of the International Labour Organization. We respect our employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. We collaborate with the Dutch Works Council and the trade unions and endorse the guidelines of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies. Through our Supplier Code of Conduct, our strategic suppliers are required to observe fair labor practices. Of our 6,137 employees, 39% are covered by a Collective Labor Agreement. This covers most of our crews and project staff. Corporate and operational staff are covered by separate agreements, reached in consultation with the employee representation bodies. We have a Boskalis pension plan and information on this can be found in our 2020 Annual Report under ‘Defined benefit pension plans'. CONTRACT TYPE AND STAFF TURNOVER The majority of our employees (2020: 83%) are on a permanent appointment, and of this core staff many have a long tenure with the company. Staff turnover for employees with a permanent contract decreased in 2020 to 13.0% and 7.6% in the Dutch organizations, compared with 13.0% and 10.4% in 2019. This year we welcomed 1,752 new colleagues (1,118 new hires and 634 due to acquisition) and 1,427 employees left Boskalis. Of these, 407 employees left due to voluntary termination or retirement. The other 723 jobs were discontinued due to projects or contracts coming to an end. Both inflow and outflow figures are lower than in 2019, impacted by the effect of the pandemic and the uncertainties in the job market. For projects, we supplement our workforce with staff drawn from a flexible shell. Depending on the project requirements, these employees are hired locally where possible or appointed on a temporary contract. In most cases, such contracts are discontinued on project completion.

care for our people SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020 – BOSKALIS

Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker