Hiring and labour practices
We attract and retain employees through a combination of:
- competitive compensation and benefit packages (including flexible and culturally-sensitive work arrangements)
- professional development and learning opportunities
- corporate initiatives
Research and development apprenticeships and programs aimed at recruiting and developing candidates from universities and local communities help to ensure we continually refresh our workforce and provide employment opportunities to the communities where we operate.
About a quarter of Cameco's workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements, and we actively promote diversity and fair hiring practices throughout the company. Cameco hires on merit, based on an applicant's qualifications and experience.
We comply with Canada's Employment Equity Act by removing barriers that may make it difficult for some people to fully participate in the workforce, including:
- women in under-represented roles
- people with disabilities
- aboriginal peoples
- members of visible minority groups
Our commitment to diversity includes:
- implementing fair hiring practices
- recruiting and retaining qualified candidates from all four equity groups
- maintaining a corporate culture that fosters excellence, innovation, employee satisfaction and engagement, by respecting individual differences and encouraging a diversity of views.
Qualified equity group members are encouraged to apply for work at Cameco and to declare their designated equity status so that we can monitor our progress towards a more representative workforce.
In addition to our fair hiring and respectful workplace policies, we have a formal system to ensure human rights complaints are resolved in a timely matter, whether they're raised by an employee or someone outside of the company.
Success to date
In 2011, we hired 648 new employees – 7% more than 2010 and 40% more than 2009. This included 178 local employees in Northern Saskatchewan, a target region for local hiring for Cameco.
Like many industrial employers, the ratio of female to male employees in our workforce is lower than we would like it to be. Women also account for a higher proportion of our turnover than men.
However, at 24% the size of our female workforce exceeds the industry average of approximately 14%, and we hope that we can further improve in the future.