Social Performance

Specific actions were undertaken during the year to ensure compliance with policies on human rights and labour practices. These include:

• Sensitisation training on ITC's approach to Human Rights and on Prevention of sexual harassment was done to cover 728 employees across businesses.
• Training of the Internal Complaints Committee members (38 employees) took place under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
• Roll-out of the Grievance Redressal Procedure for all managers and office associates in ITC's businesses and Corporate Head Office.
• Awareness building amongst vendors and service providers, through the introduction of a Code of Conduct on this aspect, which has been accepted by identified vendors/ service providers.

During the year under report, the number of full-time direct employees was 32,115 of which 2,202 employees in the Leaf Tobacco business were engaged on a seasonal basis due to the nature of the business. Of the total number of employees, 3,414 were women. The number of new appointees for the reporting period was 5,225 of which 21% were women.

In addition, 19,963 employees of service providers were engaged during the period.

12,658 direct employees are members of various unions. The Company continued to invest in progressive employee relations characterised by the core principles of trusteeship, fairness and equity, industrial democracy and partnership with enlightened trade unions, which has stood the test of time. ITC continued to set a fine record of industrial harmony, highlighted not merely by the absence of strife, but by the more positive outcome of effective performance in terms of high productivity and superior quality.

During the year, employee relations were handled well and there was no stoppage of work for any reason whatsoever in any of ITC's units.

Nurturing quality talent and caring for the well-being of employees are an integral part of ITC's work culture. This approach focuses on creating a conducive work environment that helps deliver winning performance. Benefits such as periodic preventive health check-ups, medical assistance (including hospitalisation), group accident insurance scheme, annual leave along with leave encashment and retirement benefits, amongst others, are provided to permanent employees of ITC.

During the year under review, 135 employees applied and were given maternity leave, of whom 111 have returned to work while 24 are still on leave.

ITC's businesses have promoted various interventions comprising (a) employee contests to generate innovative ideas; and (b) communication and "connect" processes, like town-hall meetings, local intranets, fun@work events and business specific rewards and recognition programmes to drive employee engagement and well-being.

ITC believes that diversity at the workplace positively impacts work performance and work environment through superior consumer-centricity, innovative ideas and better employee engagement. ITC's policy on Diversity and Equal opportunity (please refer to Policies on ITC's Corporate website www.itcportal.com) and its implementation is focused on fostering meritocracy in the organisation, which promotes diversity and offers equal opportunity to all employees. The intent is to ensure that there is no discrimination in compensation, training and employee benefits, based on caste, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ancestry, marital status or affiliation with a political, religious or union organisation or majority/minority group. Given the socio-cultural diversity of our country, ITC's recruitment and selection processes are geared towards enabling representation from across regions, ethnicities, religions and different social strata.

The culture of the Company ensures that aspects of work-life balance for employees, especially for women, are suitably addressed. ITC demands, demonstrates and promotes professional behaviour and treats all employees with equal respect. In this regard, ITC has put in place suitable processes and mechanisms to ensure issues such as sexual harassment, if any, are effectively addressed. During the year, five complaints of sexual harassment were received, all of which have since been resolved.

ITC encourages local employment in its manufacturing units and hotels, depending on the availability of requisite skills. In some of its Units, ITC also partners with local Industrial Training Institutes to provide vital inputs to the management of these institutions. ITC has also partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) empanelled agencies to impart market linked vocational training on skills including sales & distribution, hospitality, electrical maintenance, automobile repairs, beautician and garment manufacturing with the objective of enhancing employability of youth from disadvantaged sections of society. During 2014-15, over 13,000 students were enrolled in Company promoted vocational training programmes of which 36% were women and 40% were SC/ST candidates. A large number of youth is also provided with apprentice training opportunities at ITC manufacturing units.

Although ITC is committed to employing youth from disadvantaged communities, it has enlarged its impact by increasing the talent pool of youth from these communities by equipping them with the necessary skills or qualifications to make them more employable in the formal sectors of the economy. ITC also lays equal emphasis on strengthening the economic portfolio of poor households belonging to marginalised groups through initiatives aimed at natural resource management and creation of off-farm opportunities to create sustainable livelihoods.

The affirmative action initiatives of the Company have had a direct and tangible impact on the lives of 55,061 Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries spread over 14 states of the country during the year.

ITC's Capability Development Agenda flows from its Vision, Mission, Strategic Agenda and the 3-Horizon Growth strategy. All Learning and Development initiatives offered during 2014-15 were aligned to this agenda.

ITC has a multi-pronged approach to learning, with focussed interventions in core and functional areas, customised business-specific and organisation-wide strategic interventions, as well as three-tiered leadership development programmes. Based on the premise that action learning will lead to better skill development, the programmes stress less on classroom learning and more on work place projects and demonstrated leadership behaviours on the job. The programmes are thus long term journeys rather than short term events.

Multiple forums for learning include classroom training, on-the-job training, inclusion in taskforces and projects, mentoring and deploying of organisation-wide portals to enable sharing of best practices.

Employee training at the factory level focusses on continuous skill upgradation on the basis of skill-gap assessment and planned technology induction. In 2014-15, 1 42,547 person-days of formal training were organised for employees at various levels. In addition, on-the-job learning opportunities were provided to a cross section of employees supported by inputs from peers and superiors.

ITC's Performance Management System also plays a pivotal role in charting out the development agenda of employees in the management cadre. In 2014-15 all eligible managers underwent performance reviews.