The Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates respect their employees’ freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining (for instance, the right to join a trade union). This approach is shared and supported by the Company’s suppliers.Rostelecom fully respects civil rights and freedoms.

Comprising a news section, up-to-date company information, and housekeeping matters, Rostelecom’s intranet portal is its main employee communication platform. Users of the internal social network can share files and create groups, adding new content and collaborating online. All users can also express their opinions by posting comments. We run portal-based surveys, both regular (weekly surveys on issues of current importance to the Company or an employee group are posted on the main page) and as requested by different functions (for instance, a survey on employee training). Also in 2018, Rostelecom launched Online Reception, a new service enabling all employees to put questions directly online to a Rostelecom top manager.
In 2018, 69% of our employees used the portal, up 14 pp.

Our 2022 ambition is to reach a 75% employee engagement.

All employees have an opportunity to communicate with their employer through different channels: e-mail, a whistleblowing hotline, the Ethics Hotline, or regular mail. Rostelecom’s President also maintains an open communication with the Company’s employees. In May 2018, a direct line to Mikhail Oseevsky, President of Rostelecom, provided employees with an opportunity to learn about the Company’s new strategy through 2022 and ask questions to the top executive.

Also, Rostelecom has a standing bilateral collective bargaining commission; all of its meetings are minuted. The commission had four meetings in 2018. In 2019, in line with the Company’s strategy of digital transformation we will focus on automation of compliance processes, including the development of the Compliance Control automated system (resolution of conflicts of interest, and handling employee and third party enquiries).

The Company continues to improve its employee onboarding process. All new employees are provided with a ready-to-use workplace and access to a corporate mobile application from their first day of employment. This makes the onboarding process more smooth and gives the new hires an opportunity to get answers to their questions from the HR team.

A total of 7,388 women were hired in 2018, a 21.8% increase from 2017.

Rostelecom is promoting a proactive attitude and cares about employees’ health. The Company makes efforts to popularise sports and organises events for cultural entertainment of its employees.

In 2018, Rostelecom organised a corporate esports tournament for employees across all macroregional branches. The tournament featured three games: World of Tanks, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2. A total of about 1,000 employees took part in the cyber festival, with over 400 gamers making it to the finals. Employees from all across the country could cheer for their colleagues as we broadcast live coverage of the event.