General: NYA is hiring an EPCM contractor to build the cement plant. At the peak of construction activity (around 5 to 6 months of the 27 month construction phase), approximately 600 contracted personnel will be hired. This is in addition to supervisory personnel from NYA and the equipment supplier. Most of the contractor non local labor will be accommodated at the existing exploration camp and, subsequently, once built, at the purpose-built accommodation camp near the cement plant. During operations, the NYA corporate office will consist of around 50 personnel and the cement plant will have around 360 personnel at the site. The use of local labor will be maximized and a Labor and Human Resources Plan (as attached to the ESIA) has been developed in this respect.

Human Resources Policies and Procedures: NYA has hired an experienced HR manager and prepared a draft policy on Human Resources and a draft Labor and Human Resources Plan (LHRP); the company is committed to comply with DRC?s Labor Code, Mining Code and Right to Social Security. The policy and procedures relate to contracted employees during construction as well as operational staff, and cover general conditions of service; recruitment procedures; remuneration and compensation procedures; training and development; dispute settlement procedures and a policy on rights of association and bargaining. All of these fall within the requirements of PS2. 

NYA will ensure that all working conditions are covered by either an agreement, either collective or individual. The policy on rights of association and bargaining states that it will preserve its employee?s right of association and collective bargaining, as prescribed by the relevant DRC laws and statutes. These will be covered in employment agreements. In terms of protecting the workforce (child labor and forced labor), NYA has included a Human Rights Policy within the LHRP that commits to ensuring ?fair treatment and work conditions for all employees, including rights to association and collective bargaining and prohibit forced, compulsory or child labor?. NYA will not make use of child labor and/or forced labor in its operations. Whilst NYA?s approach to labor generally compiles with PS2, as stipulated in the ESAP, the company will be required to conduct a third-party labor and OHS audit of the EPCM contractor?s practices 3 - 6 months after the commencement of the EPCM contract to ensure that the EPCM contractor?s labor practices conform to the requirements of IFC?s Performance Standard 2 and the WBG EHS Guidelines. Based on this NYA and the contractor will need to close any identified gaps. 

Grievance Mechanism: The LHRP contains a section on the grievance mechanism and dispute resolution and state that these will be determined by the employment arrangements contained in the various employment contracts. It also describes that informal resolutions will be reached in the workplace between manager and employee through discussion and a mutually agreeable solution. However, for more formal resolution of conflicts and disputes, it refers to a section of the LHRP that does not exist. In addition, the grievance mechanism as described in the ESIA relates to external stakeholders and not to internal stakeholders. This is considered as a gap in this PS requirement which will need to be addressed as detailed in the ESAP.

Occupational Health and Safety: NYA has developed a draft Occupational Health and Safety Plan (OHSP), including an organizational structure and an action plan. This is for implementation during both construction and operation and will be included as part of all contractors? contracts. It takes into account all DRC legislative requirements and aims to meet the requirements of PS2. A policy must still be developed, although aspects of this are included within NYA?s broader sustainable development policy, where it states that ?NYA will provide a safe working environment for its employees and contractors. Risk of exposure to occupational health hazards will be covered through implementation of Good International Industry Practice (GIIP).? Additionally, it states that ?fatality prevention will be implemented based on GIIP. Continuous improvement will be implemented through identification of significant risks including from potentially fatal events (PFE).? The action plan includes the development of health and safety directives; corporate policies; standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines; local work instructions; reference documents; training materials and associated documentation including forms, checklists and drawings. 

Workers Engaged by Third Parties: According to the LHRP, this will be made binding on NYA and all its contractors and subcontractors working for NYA during the construction and operation phases, as long as they employ 10 or more workers at any given time for project work and their project-related activity is predominantly on project sites. These contractors will be contractually required to develop hiring, recruitment and training plans and procedures to satisfy the requirements of this policy, prior to contract finalization. It also states that NYA will monitor contractor?s performance and compliance with the hiring policy. In relation to occupational health and safety, the OHSP requires that contractors and sub-contractors report to supervisors and developing a site-specific health and safety plan to become part of their contract. They are also required to adhere to the Safety Contractor Manual (development of which is contained in the OHS action plan) and to attend safety meetings.