Occupational health and safety
The highest value for the Company is life and health of its employees. In its activities, the Company adheres to a responsible approach to occupational safety.
Management approach
Creation of favorable working conditions, as well as minimisation of risks associated with production activities and risks of emergency situations are the priorities of Kazakhtelecom JSC’s Development Strategy.
The Company strives to create safe and comfortable working conditions for its employees and develops a culture of personal responsibility for health and safety at work.
The Company intends to comply with the world’s best practices, as well as strictly follow the national and international requirements and continuously improve its Health and Safety Management System (HSE).
Kazakhtelecom’s OHS (occupational health and safety) priorities are:
- relevant compliance with and application of the Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- provision of safe working conditions and workplaces;
- use of modern technologies and best practices in occupational health and safety;
- introduction of modern means and methods of preventing occupational injuries and occupational diseases.
The Company implements the concept of ‘‘zero injuries’’ (Vision Zero), which is an initiative of the Samruk-Kazyna Fund.
The main internal documents regulating the issues of occupational health, safety and environment, industrial safety, within which Kazakhtelecom JSC’s health and safety management system operates, are:
- Occupational Health and Safety Policy;
- Collection of instructions on safety and labour protection by types of work;
- Collection of instructions on safety and labour protection by professions of the Centre for maintenance of local networks of branches of Kazakhtelecom JSC;
- Technical requirements and specifications for special clothing and personal protective equipment;
- Health and Safety Card Programme;
- Regulations on encouragement of employees in the field of occupational safety and health;
- Procedure for drawing up reports and collecting data on accidents and potentially dangerous situations related to the work activities of employees to be investigated by Kazakhtelecom JSC;
- Kazakhtelecom JSC’s policy on driving;
- Travel and Driving Standard;
- Approved forms of statistical reporting on OHS;
- Rules for periodic mandatory medical examinations;
- Rules to produce work in conditions of increased danger according to work permits;
- Standard Fire safety rules at Kazakhtelecom JSC;
- Documented procedure on Emergency Preparedness and Response.
The documents are available on the Company’s website in the Sustainable Development section, subsection“Health and Safety at Work”.
Kazakhtelecom JSC developed the Occupational Health and Safety Policy that applies to all employees and contractors of the Company.
Structure and tools of management
The Company has the Occupational Safety and Health Service (OSHS), which is a special functional unit of the Central Administration of Kazakhtelecom JSC.
The Service is responsible for day-to-day management and coordination of all organisational work on labour protection in the Company. More details on the functions of the OSHS can be found in the Company’s Integrated Annual Report 2022.
Heads of structural subdivisions of the Company’s Head Office and its branches, as well as specially appointed occupational health and fire safety officers, are responsible for the implementation of emergency and accident management procedures.
Responsibility for the implementation of the emergency management procedure is vested in the heads of structural subdivisions of the Company’s Central Administration Office and affiliated branches, as well as responsible employees for occupational health and fire safety.
As part of the HSE Concept , the Company annually takes measures to reduce accidents, achieve zero injuries and train managers at all levels.
Kazakhtelecom JSC won the first place by the level of industrial safety among the Samruk-Kazyna Fund’s portfolio companies.
The Company was also awarded in 2023 with a certificate of honour for the best indicators and implemented proactive measures in health and safety.
Involvement of employees in the management of occupational safety issues
At Kazakhtelecom JSC, we understand that employees play an important role in managing occupational safety issues. For this reason, we ensure active involvement of employees in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the occupational safety management system. All branches and Central Office of the Company have established industrial safety and labour protection councils. The production councils work on an ongoing basis to organise joint efforts by the Company and employees to ensure compliance with occupational safety requirements, prevent occupational injuries and diseases, and also organise inspections of working conditions and occupational safety at workplaces. In addition, in case of crisis situations, the Company forms a task force for investigation and elimination of crisis situations with the participation of the Occupational Safety and Health Service together with the Civil Defense Headquarters.
Ocupational Health and Safety Card programme
Starting from 2022, Kazakhtelecom introduced a standard of OHS Card Programme aimed at increasing the level of involvement of the Company’s employees in the process of improving the OHS system, as well as enabling employees to observe and report on hazards, potentially dangerous cases, and good practices, and make proposals for improving the Company’s OHS.
The programme aims to identify and report occupational hazards, unsafe working conditions at each workplace, unsafe actions and behaviours of individual employees, potentially dangerous occurrences and pre-accident situations, and provides an opportunity to make suggestions for improving the state of OHS.
The purpose of the Programme is not only to eliminate and control the risks of injury or damage to the environment and the Company’s property, but also to involve the Company’s employees in the common cause of strengthening industrial discipline and developing a safe work culture through cards at each workplace, site, and facility.
provision of
PPE
health
and hygiene
workplace
ergonomics
To motivate non-OHS employees to participate in the Programme, it was decided to train all employees on how to execute and register OHS cards, as well as to stimulate the most active participants by awarding valuable prizes.
A total of 28,578 cards were completed by employees in 2023 (the target was 24,000), which confirms the importance of this initiative for the Company’s employees.
In addition, in 2023, the Company developed and implemented the Injury Prevention Team Standard (IPT), which is designed to identify, eliminate or reduce workplace hazards and improve safety culture among the Company’s employees.
IPT is an active team that helps the heads of structural subdivisions of Kazakhtelecom JSC’s branches to improve the culture of safe labour. At the beginning of each calendar year, the IPT Leader, together with the representative of the Health and Safety Department, develops the Work Plan, which is agreed upon by the General Directors of the branches and approved by the Chief Director for Operational Efficiency.
The composition of injury prevention teams was approved in the cities of Astana, Almaty, Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau, Kokshetau, Karaganda, Konaev, Kostanai, Kyzylorda, Semey, Taldykorgan, Taraz, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Uralsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Shymkent.
In addition, in accordance with the Regulations on Encouragement of Employees in Occupational Health and Safety, the Company rewards employees for their participation in creating a safe working environment and achieving a zero injury rate.
Employees covered by the occupational health and safety management system, persons
Improvement of the labour safety and health management system
The Company strives to comply with H&S international standards. The Company has implemented health and safety management systems that comply with international standards. The Occupational Health and Safety Management System establishes uniform requirements in accordance with the ILO OHS Management Systems Manual 2001 ILO-OSH 2001 and the international standard ISO 45001:2018. The Company is constantly improving its occupational health and safety management system in accordance with the requirements of the international standard ILO-OSH, their national analogue ST RK ISO 45001-2018.
Risk assessment
Kazakhtelecom JSC treats the issues of managing occupational health and safety risks with due responsibility. The process of managing the key OHS risks is an integral part of the corporate risk management system, as well as the Company’s health and safety management system. Assessment of unacceptable hazards and risks is carried out in accordance with the approved documented procedure on Hazard Identification, Environmental Aspects and Risk Assessment, Procedure for Determining Management Measures.
The Company’s Risk Register identifies occupational injuries as one of the main risks. The Company has compiled a list of measures aimed at preventing the risk and mitigating its consequences.
To identify work-related hazards and assess risks, we prepared an action plan for a key risk event, and provided the status of key risk indicators for key risk events, on the basis of information on injuries and accidents at work, and internal health and safety control. The Company has approved the Register of significant hazards and unacceptable risks. The Company also analyses and assesses probability and impact of risks, and reviews measures to minimise risk taking into account the current situation.
Kazakhtelecom JSC regularly identifies and assesses project risks and adverse impacts on the health and safety of population groups in the areas where it operates, and develops protective, preventive measures. If necessary, the Company cooperates with relevant authorities and other stakeholders on mitigation measures and plans. Hazard identification and risk assessment procedures consider the daily activities of all personnel, human behaviour and abilities, hazards identified near or outside the work area, infrastructure, equipment and materials, and technological processes. The Company defines and implements risk management measures.
Prevention of occupational injuries
The Company pays great attention to the early prevention or mitigation of adverse impacts on the health and safety its employees, employees of contractors and the public.
The Company develops and implements measures aimed at preventing occupational injuries.
The Company carries out analysis of occupational injuries and accidents. After that, information letters are prepared and sent to the branches containing a list of measures for prevention and avoidance of accidents. In addition, the Company discusses the circumstances and causes of accidents with employees in all subdivisions and conducts unscheduled safety briefings.
A Zero Injury Plan is implemented annually. A report on the implementation of this plan is submitted to the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis.
The Company does not keep statistical records of injuries among employees of contractors with whom we have service contracts.
In connection with the requirement to improve the level of fire safety, fulfil the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and to reduce the risk of fires, the Company approved the Fire Safety Policy of Kazakhtelecom JSC.
To raise awareness of health and safety issues among the Company’s employees and stakeholders, the Company has been actively communicating on social media since September 2023. For example, the Company’s Facebook page Kazakhtelecom/HSE Team has published more than 30 posts on fire and transport safety, tips on personal and workplace safety, information on the Company’s H&S programmes and other materials. The personal Facebook page of H&S Engineer Abdykalyk Beknur publishes Company news, accident and incident reports, employee questions and suggestions, job vacancies, and advice on H&S issues. In addition, we launched a Kazakhtelecom Safety Telegram channel since September 2023.
Indicators of injuries among employees of Kazakhtelecom JSC
Indicators of injuries among employees of Kazakhtelecom JSC
These data cover 100% of the Company’s employees. No categories of employees have been excluded from these statistics.
The ratios are based on 1,000,000 hours worked.
In 2023, the Company recorded 4 “lost time accidents” resulting in 6 minor and moderate injuries; 30 “preaccidents”.
Main causes of injury: road traffic accident caused by a third party.
As a result of the identified accidents, the Kazakhtelecom JSC’s management took the following corrective measures:
- a special investigation was conducted;
- a full inspection of working equipment in the Company’s branches and divisions for compliance with occupational health and safety (OHS) requirements was carried out;
- disciplinary reprimands were issued to the responsible managers;
- compensation for material damage was provided.
To improve the safety of employee travel, the Travel and Driving Standard was amended in 2023 for items such as:
3.2.3 Right to refuse/suspend work;
3.2.4 Use of medical products;
3.2.6 Vehicle documentation;
3.4.3 Reverse motion signals;
3.5.6 Parking, reversing, moving off;
5.0 Tyres;
8.0 360° risk assessment tool (sticker).
Employee training and development of a safe work culture
The Company implements international best practices in occupational health and safety, including training and professional development in H&S.
The Company conducts annual training of employees in occupational health and safety, fire and technical minimum and safety at work on electrical installations. This training is provided both in third-party training organisations and directly at workplaces.
In 2023, Kazakhtelecom JSC held various training sessions and training programmes on occupational health and safety for the Company’s employees.
External training on H&S, fire safety, safety, 2022–2023
The Company also trains employees in the Safe Labour Culture course. Since August 2023, 7,800 production personnel have been trained on this course.
In 2023, the DAICT Corporate University conducted training and educational programmes on occupational health and safety for the Company’s employees:
- Behavioural approach to risk assessment (coaching course) - 52 participants.
- Falling objects (coaching course) - 52 participants.
- Injury Prevention and Response IPR 3 (coaching course) - 52 participants.
- Safe Working Environment SWE 2 (coaching course) - 52 participants.
- Injury Prevention and Response IPR 2 - 2,130 participants.
- SWE2 safe working environment - 1,097 participants.
- Facilitator Level 2 - 44 participants.
- Safe Driving - 1,552 participants.
- Occupational safety culture - 6,997 participants.
- H&S cards - 5,724 participants.
The Company has a video training programme on Health and Safety for responsible managers. As part of the programme, employees are shown videos on such topics as:
- work with increased danger close to power lines and with the help of specialised equipment;
- methods and techniques ensuring safety of employees;
- first aid in case of accidents.
This video training programme is implemented across all divisions and subdivisions, with constant monitoring, analysis and decision-making to improve the programme. This method of training helps to improve the efficiency of employees in the production process and minimise existing risks in the workplace.
«Play | Learn | Be SAFE» – safety workshops for children
Kazakhtelecom JSC cares not only about the safety of its employees, but also of their children.
In 2023, the Company held 23 seminars for children of employees aged 8-12 in 18 cities in six regions. The topics included personal safety, road safety, and internet safety. In 2023, 334 children attended our workshops.
Investments in industrial and occupational safety
In 2023, the total amount of investment in occupational health and safety made KZT 1,382 million.
Company’s investments in occupational health&safety, 2021–2023, million KZT
Occupational disease prevention and health protection
Since care for employees is a key priority for Kazakhtelecom JSC, special attention is paid to their health.
The social package for employees includes full medical insurance. Employees also benefit from health improvement and health resort treatment programmes in accordance with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. In addition, preliminary, periodic and extraordinary medical examinations of employees are conducted on a regular basis.
Based on the results of these examinations, if necessary, employees are sent for indepth preventive examinations. Employees in the category of production personnel who are subject to mandatory medical examinations are not allowed to work if they fail to undergo the examination.
According to the requirements of the Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, employees of contractors engaged in work with increased danger, machines and mechanisms are also subject to mandatory pre- and post-shift medical examinations.
As part of the corporate Well-Being programme, the Company carries out a number of activities aimed at disease prevention. To assess the risks of cardiovascular diseases, employees are tested using the Cardiovisor apparatus. Based on the results of testing, employees receive medical advice and recommendations. Wellness testing is also conducted using the Mediskrin apparatus to assess musculoskeletal problems. Based on the results, employees receive personalised recommendations from a doctor.
Occupational health and safety management in contracting organisations
Contracting organisations performing work at the Company’s facilities are subject to comply with environmental protection and industrial safety requirements, standards and norms.
Kazakhtelecom JSC attaches great importance to interaction with suppliers of goods, works and services in terms of H&S managing. For this purpose, suppliers and contractors are subject to appropriate requirements in accordance with the corporate standards in industrial safety. At the same time, contractors are obliged to independently monitor compliance with these health and safety requirements.
The Company implements a system for assessing contracting organisations on occupational safety issues. The Company provides occupational health and safety training for employees of contractors.
Plans for 2023 and the medium term
“People. Improving safety culture” block:
- Professional development of managers and employees. Organisation of thematic meetings by managers of all levels.
- Report on fatal accident investigations, root causes and measures taken to prevent recurrence to the Company’s Board of Directors.
- Conduct a survey among senior managers to identify the level of labour safety culture. Develop a work plan to improve safety culture for low-performing managers.
- Participate in the development and implementation of the Concept of Safe Labour Development in Kazakhstan until 2030.
“Ensuring the safety of equipment” block:
- Continue to modernise equipment to improve safety.
- Conduct cross audits in the Fund’s portfolio companies in accordance with the audit schedule.
- Continue to monitor the application of proactive accident and injury prevention tools (behavioural audits/safety observations, recording and investigation of hazardous conditions, hazardous acts and potentially hazardous incidents, Near Miss; right to suspend work) to develop measures to improve them.
- Work on improving the efficiency of interaction with contractors to enhance safe performance at the Company’s production facilities.
- Procure emergency medical supplies, including defibrillators for cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“Prevention and readiness to eliminate possible accidents and emergencies” block:
- Analyse and ensure availability of material and financial resources to carry out elimination of a major accident or emergency in accordance with the emergency response plan.
- Ensure training activities: drills and/or emergency drills to eliminate a major accident or emergency at a facility involving the Fund and state authorities; fire extinguishing drills in administrative buildings (offices) and accommodation of shift workers.
“Information and awarenessraising work on industrial safety” block:
- Hold an Occupational Safety Forum for the first heads of the Company and branches.
- Release a video message from the Chairman of the Company’s Management Board to summarise the results of the year in industrial safety.
- Raise awareness of personal and industrial safety among employees’ children, organise interactive master classes and a contest on the topic “Safety through the eyes of a child”.