We are committed to maintaining a working environment that is safe and that fosters the health and wellbeing of our employees and contractors. Ensuring safety and wellbeing is a strategic essential to our business and is underpinned by our iCARES values.
Highlights from 2022
> 99%
employees have
medical insurance
422,736
hours invested on safety and health-related training
ISO 45001
& 14001
certified across our business
Total recordable injury
frequency rate
5.07
per million hours worked
(2021: 7.10)
98% of employees
voluntarily signed a moral commitment to uphold critical controls,
critical life-saving behaviours and critical management routines.
A closer look
Mining and processing activities present various hazards that can be of significant consequence to our workers. Continuously improving our safety performance, through risk mitigation, is vital and we remain committed to eliminating fatal accidents and achieving our goal of Zero harm.
While Zero Harm remains our ultimate objective, our immediate goal is focused on eliminating high-energy fatal and serious incidents
through our Fatal Elimination Strategy that comprises the key pillars of critical controls, critical life saving behaviours, and critical management routines. Through our Zero Harm framework we aim to humanise, institutionalise and systemise these controls, to mitigate risk and embed an operational safety culture that enables our teams to work to standards and to stop any unsafe work without hesitation.
During 2022, we invested R768 million at our SA PGM operations (2021: R616 million), R649 million at our SA gold operations (2021: R338 million) and US$32 million at our US PGM operations in safety management initiatives, including personal protective equipment (PPE), capital outlay and training. As a minimum requirement, all employees receive training on our safety standards and safe work procedures through the annual refresher and induction programme.
Sandouville refinery employees received training on Sibanye-Stillwater’s safety methods and models. A perception study at Sandouville revealed that stress levels and burnout among employees could be contributing to safety violations. We will address this, and continue to embed our safety approach as we further integrate the European region in 2023.
At Keliber, where construction began in 2023, all employees undergo compulsory occupational safety training and work on ISO 45001 certification has started.
Despite a significant year on year improvement in all safety metrics, the tragic loss of life in 2022, where five of our colleagues passed away in mine related incidents, is a reminder that we still have a journey to travel to sustainably eliminate fatal incidents from our operations. Our sincere condolences go to the families and friends of our departed colleagues.
Our iCARES values guide our approach to health and wellbeing. We participate in the health working group of the ICMM. As mandated by the Mine Health and Safety Act (MSHA) all employees and contractors whose jobs expose them to risk undergo annual medical examination. Our care to employees includes:
- Occupational health resources that assess risks, determine fitness to work, and manage disease and rehabilitation
- Primary health care centres with doctors and nurses managing cases 24/7
- Shaft clinics within walking distance from the workplace offering primary health care facilities, including health assessments and
treatment for communicable diseases and chronic ailments - Satellite primary health care clinics
- Employee assistance programme (EAP) that includes counselling for employees and immediate family, provided by ICAS via 24/7 multilingual toll-free call centre and on-site social workers
- Emergency medical services equipped with paramedics and 24/7 rescue capability
- Hospital network with specialised care for trauma and for occupational injuries and diseases
We are committed to furthering the ‘integral wellbeing’ of our employees. By this we mean wellbeing that goes beyond basic mental and physical health, encompassing the full potential and purpose of the human personality. Among other things, this involves a commitment to
- Promote a safe and healthy working environment in pursuit of optimum productivity and preservation of human life and wealth
- Enhance our employee value proposition with a workplace culture that is holistic (integral) and that prioritises wellbeing
- Encourage employees to take responsibility for their own wellbeing
- Enable the Group to better oversee the wellbeing of employees, particularly when this impacts organisational objectives
- Reduce health and wellbeing costs
- Integral wellbeing policy include mental health
We strive to maintain the safety and health of our employees by identifying, monitoring and reducing exposure to risks that can lead to occupational disease such as heat, radiation, noise and dust; and we participate in the health working group of the ICMM, which helps increase our awareness of health-related matters in our industry.
As with safety, each region has tailored its own needs-specific approach to health and wellness programmes.
References
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Media release: December 07, 2023 – Sibanye-Stillwater receives multiple industry awards for its SA operations’ safety performance
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Integrated report 2022: Continuous safe production
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Integrated report 2022: Health, wellbeing and occupational hygiene
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Fact sheet 2022: Care for iMali: Taking care of personal finance
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Policy statement: Health and safety
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Policy statement: Security
Tshiamiso Trust
The Tshiamiso Trust was set up to carry out the terms of a December 2019 settlement between six mining companies and claimants suffering from silicosis and work-related TB. The trust, worth R5 billion, was instituted in February 2020. Claimants can make use of numerous lodgement centres across various countries, and medical centres carrying out medical benefit examinations. As one of the six companies involved, Sibanye-Stillwater helped in setting up the operating structures and claims system. To date (February 2023) almost R1 billion has been paid out, with claimants coming forward and claims being paid regularly. The website provides real-time statistics on appointments, registrations, claims lodged and claimants paid. Sibanye-Stillwater assisted the Department of Health in launching their Tshiamiso Trust campaign at our Andrew Saffy Memorial hospital.
