Moscow – A variety of preventive measures introduced under the leadership of the PhosAgro task force created a year ago to prevent the spread of COVID-19 remain in place at Company enterprises.
After the first signs of an impending pandemic appeared in March 2020, the task force, which was led by PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev, reached out to leading Russian and international epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists and psychologists to develop a system of preventive measures. Workplace regulations were put in place to respond to any imaginable pandemic scenario, and backup systems were established for key personnel responsible for ensuring the continuous operation of production facilities.
Of PhosAgro’s workforce of 17.5 thousand, more than 3.5 thousand employees (one fifth) who are not involved in maintaining uninterrupted operations have been working remotely since March last year – with no negative impact on their efficiency.
Workers’ health condition and body temperature are checked on a regular basis, and periodic testing for COVID-19 is also carried out. Social distancing measures are in place in workplaces and on corporate transport – the Company doubled the size of its bus fleet prior to the start of the pandemic – to ensure that workers can maintain a safe distance.
Additional sanitisation measures are still being carried out at PhosAgro facilities and in Company vehicles, and the requirement to wear a mask remains in place. Workplaces are supplied with antiseptics and ultraviolet disinfection lamps. Restrictions on business trips and in-person meetings remain in place; employees with any flu-like symptoms are prohibited from coming to work. All preventive measures in place within the Company are applied to the same extent to the employees of contractors.
Intense work is under way to vaccinate PhosAgro’s workforce in order to create collective immunity. At the moment, around 3.5 thousand employees have already received the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine, and nearly 2.5 thousand of them have already received the second dose as well. Vaccination against COVID-19 was the third stage of PhosAgro’s voluntary corporate vaccination campaign for the fall–winter period. Employees were vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcus in the second half of 2020.
“I want to thank our entire workforce and each one of our employees individually for their strict adherence to our preventive measures. Every employee has shown a sense of responsibility for their co-workers, and for their family and loved ones. As a result, we have managed to avoid outbreaks at all our enterprises, ensuring uninterrupted production during the pandemic, preventing disruptions to investment projects and guaranteeing the country’s food security.
“Maintaining uninterrupted business operations has enabled PhosAgro to play a role in strengthening the antiviral shield put in place by the state. To date, PhosAgro has invested RUB 3.5 billion to carry out preventive measures against COVID-19 in the regions where it operates in order to support healthcare and the most affected population groups. This work, which has been recognised with a commemorative ‘We Are Together’ medal for a selfless contribution to the organisation of mutual assistance throughout Russia, will continue,” said Mr Guryev, PhosAgro’s CEO and Head of the COVID-19 Coordinating Council of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Xavier Rolet, Chairman of PhosAgro’s Board of Directors, noted that the coronavirus pandemic has become a global challenge, and that what business needed in order to respond in a suitable manner was a top-notch corporate culture and an understanding of the importance of work in the area of ESG factors (environment, social responsibility and corporate governance).
“It is important that, following the first signs of an impending pandemic, PhosAgro prioritised the safety and health of its employees, their families and all residents of the regions where it operates. Even at the most difficult stage of the pandemic, which dealt a serious blow to the global economy, PhosAgro continued to implement its social and charitable programmes, increasing its support to RUB 4 billion. The pandemic thus confirmed the success of the transformation that has taken place within the Company in recent years, not only in terms of the modernisation of production facilities but also in terms of compliance with best global practices in the area of corporate and social responsibility,” said Mr Rolet.