Health and wellness are central to our commitment to creating a thriving, resilient workforce. As a critical enabler of operational efficiency and sustainable growth, we focus on early intervention, proactive health management and driving a culture of care through innovative initiatives that improve employees' quality of life, morale, productivity and safety.
With a recent health report showing a rise in lifestyle diseases and high body mass index (BMI) levels among employees, Exxaro recognised the need for proactive measures to promote healthy lifestyles and reduce the risk of related illnesses. By integrating health education, advanced monitoring technologies and personalised guidance into our wellness initiatives, Exxaro aims to keep employees healthier and prevent long-term health complications.
As part of our wellness campaigns, Exxaro collaborated with a dietician to educate employees on healthy eating and lifestyle habits. Employees who seek these services are provided with smartwatches capable of monitoring key health metrics in real time, including blood pressure, ECG, blood sugar, oxygen saturation, fatigue and stress levels. These devices empower employees to take charge of their health by offering immediate insights into their wellbeing. The dietician uses these tools to guide employees on how to adapt their habits based on their personal health data, creating a tailored and impactful approach to wellness.
This initiative reflects Exxaro's commitment to fostering a healthier workforce, equipping employees with the resources they need to thrive both personally and professionally.
CENNERGI
Cennergi remains committed to promoting health and wellbeing for all individuals working on site, including contractors. In 2024, wellness initiatives were conducted at Amakhala and Tsitsikamma, focusing on preventive health and mental wellbeing.
The initiatives included comprehensive health screenings for contractors, covering general wellness checks, blood pressure, glucose levels and BMI assessments. Mental health awareness sessions highlighted the importance of stress management and available support resources, encouraging open conversations about mental wellbeing.
To ensure a safe and healthy workplace, occupational health talks addressed common health concerns and best practices for wellbeing on site. These initiatives equipped contractors with the knowledge and tools to proactively manage their health, contributing to a resilient and more productive workforce at Cennergi's operations.
A physically and psychologically safe workplace is inextricably linked to successfully delivering on our strategy. Guided by our integrated health and wellness strategy, we identify and address occupational, non-occupational and mental health risks, aiming to mitigate their causes and impacts on our people and business.
Preventive, holistic and employee-driven health and wellness underpins our approach, which is reinforced by:
Accountability and responsibility
The executive committee oversees health and wellness by delegating authority to mine managers and our sustainability managers.
Regulatory compliance
We adhere to the MHSA and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA) and align our health and wellness initiatives with government's national and regional priorities.
Beyond compliance
We adopt a preventive approach to intervention and awareness of hearing loss. We begin intervention from a 2.5% loss of hearing shift to prevent further deterioration, whereas the DMRE requires intervention from a 3.2% loss of hearing shift. We also monitor dermatitis, asbestosis and work-related limb disorders.
This strategy enables us to create an empowering environment for our employees through our employee wellness programme (EWP) and complementary awareness campaigns, health testing drives and wellness initiatives.
| Prevent |
|
Preventive programmes (mandatory awareness campaigns and healthy lifestyle coaching) address a range of employee health and wellness challenges. |
| Diagnose |
|
We improve medical surveillance by extending clinical tests (heart disease and risk-based cancer screening) and DNA analysis from middle management upward. |
| Manage |
|
We improve healthcare management by ensuring all employees with occupational and non-occupational health risks are included in a disease management programme. |
To further enhance our offering, we are reviewing wellness needs across BUs through engagements with wellness coordinators. Insights from these discussions will guide an updated wellness programme, scheduled for completion early next year.
| Our integrated health and wellness strategy is supported by our culture themes. |
To identify employee illness trends, prevent the development and spread of disease, and assess the effectiveness of our interventions, we record and analyse data on occupational and non-occupational diseases. These include:
| Communicable diseases | Non-communicable diseases | ||
Occupational diseases |
Contagious illnesses such as occupational TB and hepatitis B contracted at work | Non-contagious illnesses such as noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), pneumoconiosis, silicosis, chronic obstructive airway disease and occupational asthma | |
Non-occupational (lifestyle) diseases |
Cholera, malaria, typhoid, influenza and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/Aids | Diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments | |
Our EWP offers holistic support to employees, addressing a wide range of challenges that may impact their wellbeing. Managed by our people and performance department since its launch in 2021, the EWP provides access to external counselling services and targeted interventions to support employees across the following wellness dimensions:
Counselling services, primarily available in English, are complemented by Bayport Financial Services' offerings, including debt restructuring, financial rehabilitation and financial management training for employees facing financial hardship.
| Awareness and access |
We ensure employees are well informed about the
EWP
through
various communication channels:
|
| Focus on mental health |
| Mental health remains an important part of the EWP, guided by World Health Organization principles. We offer virtual mental health masterclasses on Microsoft Teams, equipping employees with self-diagnosis techniques and practical coping strategies. |
We conduct noise and hearing induction sessions for all employees, ensuring they understand the risks and protective measures related to workplace noise. HIV/Aids awareness forms part of medical inductions for employees, with contractors attending dedicated programmes during specific campaigns and medical inductions. These initiatives encourage voluntary counselling and testing, and enable easy access to medication through occupational healthcare centres.
CENNERGI
Employees use the group's employee health and wellness programme and attend sessions arranged for Exxaro BUs.
How we performed
In 2024, we recorded 23RA occupational disease cases (2023: 23), resulting in an OHIFR of 0.14 (2023: 0.15) against the target of 0.13.
We measure our performance against the Mine Health and Safety Milestones, which were revised and communicated this year for adoption beyond 2024.
Reported number of cases
| NIHL | Pneumoconiosis | Silicosis | |
Mining industry target |
No employee's standard threshold shift
will exceed 25dB from the baseline when averaged at 2 000Hz, 3 000Hz and 4 000Hz in one or both ears. |
|
|
Exxaro's progress |
Our hearing conservation programme aims to
reduce NIHL cases. We conduct regular checks
and tests to ensure hearing protection and
controls remain effective.
Key initiatives include:
|
Pneumoconiosis cases have declined
since 2014 due to proactive
investigations and targeted actions
in response to over-exposures. These measures include:
|
We have not recorded silicosis cases since 2019 due to dust control measures that reduce exposure. |
We identified 39 new diabetes cases (2023: 93) and 122 hypertensive employees and contractors (2023: 334).
HIV/Aids and TB
Mining industry target
By December 2024:
We report against the industry TB and HIV targets on the Minerals Council's Masoyise dashboard.
Our performance
As part of the health and wellness programme, 14 143 employees and contractors received HIV/Aids counselling (2023: 18 419). Additionally, 13 459 employees and contractors voluntarily tested for HIV/Aids (189 employees and contractors tested positive). The prevalence of HIV/Aids cases is 1.4% (2023: 1.87%). The national prevalence rate is 12.7%. HIV-positive employees can easily access medication at our occupational health centres. |
HIV/Aids
awareness |
2024 |
2023 |
2022 |
|
| Attended information sessions | 14 143 | 18 419 | 14 585 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total tested | 13 459 | 12 597 | 7 827 | ||
| % tested | 94.33 | 68.39 | 54 | ||
| Employees tested positive | 189 | 236 | 203 | ||
| Enrolled in December (cumulative) | 1 548 | 2 123 | 1 745 | ||
| Received antiretroviral treatment | 1 548 | 4 815 | 1 674 |
| EWP | ||||
| EWP utilisation and counselling | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| Utilisation rate (%) | 7.8 | 8.9 | 12.68 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proactive Health Solutions benchmark (%) | 5.3 | 6.4 | 6.4 | |
| Cases managed | 3 785 | 6 350 | 5 870 | |
| Individual cases | 541 | 716 | 684 | |
| Individuals in group trauma debriefing sessions | 615 | 578 | 512 | |
| Individuals in group information sessions | 3 781 | 5 056 | 4 674 | |
The majority of employees who utilised EWP services are men (20 to 49 years old)
(2023: Men 18 to 50 years old)
is the leading cause of mental health issues
(2023: stress)
Preferred services are
(2023: face-to-face counselling)
employees have relationship-related challenges
(2023: 251)
Taking services |
We are adopting the principle of bringing health and wellness services directly to employees, making these services more accessible. This includes the use of smart devices for real-time screening of blood pressure, blood sugar, fatigue and stress levels. We introduced dietician services to educate employees on healthy eating habits that prevent lifestyle diseases. On-site therapists are available at each BU, providing psychological support without the need for employees to take time off work. This has reduced absenteeism due to illness and improved workplace attitudes. | |
Medication |
Grootegeluk clinic is an accredited external medication pick-up point as part of government’s Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution programme. Our employees collect their chronic medication from the clinic, reducing transport costs and allowing employees to receive two to three months’ medication at a time. | |
Wellness day |
Exxaro hosted wellness days across BUs, offering screenings for lifestyle diseases such as blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, HIV, breast cancer and prostate cancer. Employees also received guidance from dieticians on balanced diets and the importance of physical activity to prevent or delay the onset of lifestyle diseases. | |
Cennergi health |
Cennergi conducted medical screenings, including blood pressure, blood sugar and HIV tests, as well as financial wellness interventions for employees in 2024. Health initiatives were extended to contractors, including wellness screenings and mental health check-ins, ensuring all individuals on site have the knowledge and resources to manage their health effectively. | |
Our primary focus in 2025 will be:
IR