Social support

Collective Bargaining Agreement

GRI 2-30

Overall, Russian Railways delivered on its obligations for 2022 under the Collective Bargaining Agreement 2020–2022, meaning the Company maintained its status as a socially responsible employer. There were no collective labour disputes. The decisions on securing employment and personnel earnings ensured social stability among employees.

Social support of employees

As a socially responsible employer, Russian Railways offers an extended social package in the following areas.

Basic social package:

• free annual travel by public railway transport for employees and their dependent children up to 18 years of age:
  • for personal needs on long-haul trains,
  • from the place of residence to the place of work or study and back,
  • from the place of residence to the place of medical treatment and back,
  • from the place of residence to the place where goods can be purchased for family needs – for employees living at stations, passing loops, or transport stops not covered by retailers;
• financial support for motherhood and childhood:
  • supplement to the maternity allowance to raise the total payment to the average monthly earnings,
  • financial assistance in excess of the allowance established by laws in the event of the birth of a child (or adoption of a child),
  • monthly allowance for those on leave to care for a child aged 1.5 to 3 years;
• voluntary health insurance;
• supporting employees in need of household fuel;
• financial assistance for those taking an annual paid leave;
• accident insurance of children during their stay in children’s recreational camps;
• lump-sum remuneration for diligent work upon retirement;
• guarantees and benefits when an employee is discharged;
• employee insurance providing for payments to families of deceased employees.

Co-financed social package:

• private pension plans;
• health resort treatment and recreation for employees and their family members;
• providing places for employees’ children in educational institutions established by the Company;
• corporate support for those acquiring their own housing;
• financial compensation for the cost of fitness sessions.

Compensated social package:

• An employee can be refunded, within a certain limit, for their expenses related to social services included on the approved list.

Bonus package:

• Financial and non-financial incentives through the mechanism of accrual and exchange of bonus points for activity, involvement in solving corporate tasks, or participation in important corporate projects.

Corporate pension system

All of the Company’s employees can benefit from the private corporate pension system. In terms of its goals and purpose, a private (corporate) pension is an additional measure of social support for workers, independent of the state pension system. Its strategic target is to ensure a replacement rate of at least 40% of an employee’s lost earnings.

In 2022, the number of the Company participants to the plan exceeded 569,000. Over 288,000 retired railway workers currently receive corporate pensions in addition to the state ones.

In 2022, pensions were granted to 10,367 Russian Railways employees. The average corporate pension granted in 2022 was RUB 9,291.

Support for retirees

The Company’s social responsibility efforts include benefits to senior retirees of railway enterprises not eligible for a private corporate pension. They receive monthly social support from the Honour charitable foundation.

In 2022, over 57,000 people received monthly financial aid for a total of RUB 383.7 m, with an average payment currently standing at RUB 556.

Retirees receive medical care at Russian Railways’ corporate health centres in line with local compulsory health insurance programmes, and high-cost treatment according to the list of services stipulated by the Company.

Retirees in need can have their household fuel expenses compensated by the Company. In 2022, we covered RUB 569.4 m in household fuel expenses for over 34,000 veterans.

We provide premises, phone connection, and office supplies for veteran councils and arrange for car transportation to visit disabled people and lonely retirees.

Chairpersons of the veteran councils receive monthly financial aid. In 2022, a total of RUB 156.1 m was allocated to support 4,256 council chairpersons and deputy chairpersons.

The Company also provides monthly financial aid to keepers of local and site railway museums. In 2022, a total of RUB 16.8 m was paid to 243 keepers.

The Company holds corporate celebrations of the Victory Day and Day of Older Persons, organises trains to visit the sites of labour and battle glory, and holds workshops to exchange field experience between veteran organisations.

In 2022, the Company provided financial support of over RUB 13.4 m to 11,400 veterans of the Great Patriotic War, prisoners of concentration camps and home front workers to mark the Victory Day.

All in all, financial support paid to veterans by the Honour charitable foundation exceeded RUB 1.3 bn. Russian Railways’ Veterans targeted programme received RUB 45 m.

In the reporting year, the Unified Social Operator was introduced across the entire railway network to combine the provision of benefits, guarantees and compensations to Russian Railways retirees through remote services. 78,000 retirees registered with the Pensioner Service Portal and can now receive updates on events and apply for benefits online.

Housing policy

The Company cares about the comfort and well-being of its employees, offering corporate benefits to help improve their living conditions and buy housing:

• reduced mortgage rate of 2–4.5%;
• partial compensation of a subsidised mortgage loan for families with new-born or adopted children;
• corporate housing for employees of rare and sought-after professions;
• compensation of up to 70% of rental fees for employees renting third-party housing;
• subsidies to purchase housing for vulnerable population groups: single parents, multichild families, people with disabilities caused by a workplace injury, and employees who lost their housing as a result of an emergency or a natural disaster.

In 2022, 1,990 employees improved their living conditions with the Company’s support, including:

• 1,006 employees received subsidies for a portion of mortgage interest. The subsidies totalled RUB 81.73 m;
• 14 employees of certain categories (single parents, large families and others) received non-repayable subsidies totalling RUB 36.08 m.

1,488 employees received non-repayable subsidies for the birth of children during the period of subsidised mortgage repayment. The subsidies totalled RUB 304.2 m.

In the reporting year, five residential buildings with a total area of 4,902 sq m were built for Russian Railways’ designated housing under investment projects. The Company commissioned residential buildings at the stations of Yezdotsky in the Belgorod Region, Karymskaya and Novaya Chara in the Trans-Baikal Territory, and Krymskaya in the Krasnodar Territory.