The diversity policy also sets out ways to monitor the measures taken to implement it. One indicator is the ratio of men’s to women’s remuneration by position held. In the PGE Group, this ratio is as follows:

In the case of PGE S.A., the pay gap is lower than at the Group level, with women directors earning on average even more than men in the same positions:

*The large difference that occurred in PGE S.A. in 2023 compared with the previous year was due to a change in the company’s employment structure resulting from transformations within the PGE Group. In particular, the change was due to the concentration of competencies in the following areas: Accounting, Human Resources and Payroll, Communications and Marketing. In the case of the PGE Group, on the other hand, the change was due to a change in the age structure in the generation companies (including the retirement of a large number of women).

The year 2023 ended with no serious or fatal accidents. The number of accidents increased by 68 compared to 2022 and by 38 compared to 2021. The accident frequency index also increased by 1.15 against 2022 and by 0.38 against 2021. It shows the number of accidents at work, as defined in Article 3(1) of the Act on Social Insurance for Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases of 30 October 2002 (as amended), per 1,000 employees (FTEs). The value of this index for 2022 was 4.55.

According to data of the Central Statistical Office (“Accidents at work in 2022 – preliminary data”), in 2022, this index for similar sections and divisions in Poland was as follows:

• generation and supply of electricity, gas, steam and hot water: 5.02
• mining and quarrying: 14.78

Data for 2023 are not yet available, however, from the available information it appears that the PGE Group’s performance for 2022 was probably better than the average for the aforementioned sections and divisions in Poland.

Type and rate of injuries, occupational diseases, lost days and absenteeism, as well as the total number of work-related fatal accidents broken down by gender.

For the calculation of the above indexes, casualties of accidents at work are taken into account. Casualties of accidents on the way to and from work and casualties of events equated with accidents at work, as referred to in Article 3(2) of the Act on Social Insurance for Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2189). Employees are understood as employees of PGE Capital Group companies. Collective accidents were light accidents.

Since 2022, the PGE Group has been presenting a new Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR). Within the Group, it value was 2.8 (accidents/million hours worked) in 2023.

The number of high-potential occupational accidents decreased in 2023. Most of the accidents were tripping, slipping while walking on a flat surface or on stairs and hand injuries related to handling objects manually.

The Framework OHS Improvement Plan for 2024 includes measures aimed at improving the indexes related to accidents at work.

In 2023, there were no serious accidents, no fatalities of PGE employees or external contractors. This indicates an improvement on the data for previous years.

In 2023, there was one traffic-related group accident, in which six people were injured. Each of them suffered a so-called light injury. A total of 340 near misses, i.e. sudden, work-related incidents that did not result in injury, were reported. The increasing tendency to report such incidents is indicative of a developing safety culture, allowing action to be taken before accidents occur.

In addition, five accidents equated with an accident at work were identified in 2023. In accordance with Article 3(2) of the Act on Social Insurance for Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases of 30 October 2002 (as amended), an accident suffered by an employee is regarded as equal to an accident at work when it happens:

• during a business trip,
• during training in general self-defence,
• when carrying out tasks mandated by trade union organisations functioning at a given workplace.

At PGE S.A., due to the centralisation of services, employment increased. All accidents were office incidents, i.e. tripping, hitting objects, etc. Two accidents did not result in sickness absence.

Measures are being taken to improve the indexes presented above.

In PGE Group companies, employees use various channels to report OHS issues, including superiors, the OHS service, social labour inspectors, publicly available physical boxes for notifications drawn up on paper, email boxes, health and safety committees, a dedicated IT application, etc. In addition, representatives of the top management of PGE Group companies are expected to make regular visits to the sites where the particular groups of employees assigned to them perform work. To this end, a manual for conducting such management field visits has been developed.

Furthermore, within the PGE Group, employees can report, among other things, OHS issues to the Compliance Department via a dedicated email address. Emails are forwarded directly to the President of the Management Board of PGE S.A., the Director of the Compliance Department in PGE S.A., the Director of the Audit Department in PGE S.A. and the Director of the Security Department in PGE S.A. PGE Group companies respect whistleblowers’ right to anonymity. Personal and other information sent to this email address remains confidential until the informant consents to the disclosure of all or part of such information. In 2023, 340 near misses were reported. These are analysed and, if necessary, preventive action is taken.

According to the Labour Code, all employees have the right to refrain from performing work that endangers people’s life or health. It is related to the occurrence of an external hazard when working conditions do not comply with health and safety regulations and pose a direct threat to the health or life of a worker, or when the work being performed endangers others. Employees are entitled to remuneration for the period when they abstain from work due to such risks. In the companies where tasks requiring special psychophysical fitness are executed, lists of such tasks are maintained. Employees executing such tasks have the right, after prior notification to their supervisor, to refrain from executing them if their mental and physical condition does not ensure the safe performance of their work and poses a danger to others. In such circumstances, they are assigned the performance of other types of work.

Accidents at work are investigated by an accident team consisting of an OHS officer and either a social labour inspector or a workers’ representative. If necessary, the team consults other specialists to assess the nature and consequences of an accident. Other OHS incidents, accidents, etc. are also investigated in PGE Group companies. Conclusions are drawn from conducted investigations to improve the functioning of the OHS management system. The experience gained from OHS incidents is shared at the PGE Group level. The causes of incidents are investigated according to various methods, including: cause tree analysis, TOL, 5 x why, etc. Selected major incidents are further analysed by a team from the Corporate Centre to identify potential knowledge to be used in the whole Group.

OHS consultations with employees are carried out by individual employers mainly through OHS committees established in every company. The intention is to ensure an equal number of employee and employer representatives, as well as the participation of an occupational medicine specialist.

The task of an OHS committee is to consult on OHS issues, in particular to review working conditions, periodically assess the state of OHS, give opinions on measures taken by the employer to prevent accidents at work and occupational diseases, formulate proposals for the improvement of working conditions, and cooperate with the employer in the implementation of its obligations in the field of OHS. In connection with the performance of these tasks, an OHS committee may use expert opinions or reports from outside the workplace in cases agreed upon with the employer and at the employer’s expense.

Communication relating to OHS issues is carried out at multiple levels. The corporate circular entitled “Under the Umbrella”, which is distributed to all PGE Group employees, deals with various OHS issues.

Different communication tools are used in individual PGE Group companies, e.g.: incident information brochures, OHS reports, cartoons, instructional videos or webinars discussing health and safety issues, etc.

Before starting work, all employees receive initial OHS training, including general and job-specific instructions. Depending on their position, employees are obliged to participate in periodic OHS training. The frequency is once a year for jobs with specific hazards and once every six years for administrative and office jobs. Training programmes are tailored to the requirements of particular job groups. Employees working on energy equipment take the required examinations to prove their competence to perform specific work and obtain the relevant certificates. In PGE Group companies there are 16 qualification commissions verifying the qualifications of persons involved in the operation of equipment, installations and networks. Members of these commissions are appointed by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office.

Operational works on power equipment in the areas of operation, maintenance, overhaul, assembly, control and measurement are carried out in accordance with the operating instructions for power equipment or groups of power equipment, which contain, among other things, characteristics of equipment, a description of actions necessary to start, operate and stop equipment, as well as deadlines for carrying out inspections, tests and measurements. Furthermore, works on energy equipment are performed in accordance with the safe work organisation instructions. This document describes in detail how to organise such works, specifies the requirements for functional persons, the conditions for supervising the performance of works or the rules for the circulation of written work orders. The correct handling of such documents is the responsibility of individual employers within PGE Group companies. Operational works that pose a potential for a particular risk to human health or life are carried out on the basis of a written work order. Written instructions are also often used in other situations where this is recommended for safety reasons, in particular when assigning tasks to contractors’ employees.

Contractors working on the premises of PGE Capital Group companies are provided with information on health and life hazards occurring in the workplace, rules of conduct in the event of accidents or other situations threatening the health and life of employees, protective and preventive measures taken to eliminate or reduce risks. Where necessary, agreements with contractors specify OHS requirements and introductory OHS training is provided for contractors.

Contractors’ activities are supervised with respect to their compliance with OHS requirements.

OHS programmes are implemented at individual workplaces according to current needs arising from OHS analyses, mutual experience-based learning, etc.

The PGE Group’s attention to occupational health and safety is recognised by external experts, which also manifests itself through awards and distinctions. In 2023, these included:

The Knowledge and Development Centre is the primary training provider in the PGE Group.

The Centre also collaborated on training courses designed for employees of Distribution Customers Service Points and entitled “Managing oneself in change and difficult situations in customer service”, aimed at improving the quality services offered there.

It also prepared a series of Lunch&Learn educational and training meetings for the entire PGE Group, dedicated to various topics related to the company and its environment. There were nine sessions of Lunch&Learn in 2023. The centre also organised foreign language classes, training in the functioning of the energy market or the administration of first aid.

Since 2023, PGE Group employees have been able to benefit from various forms of competencies development made available electronically on a dedicated LMS (Learning Management System) platform with e-learning courses on a wide range of topics. New training products are also regularly developed to meet the organisation’s business and development needs. Another form of learning made available to employees is podcasts, which are audio recordings made in collaboration with business representatives. The PGE Group Energy Podcast premiered in 2023 and new episodes are now published on a regular basis.  Employees have the opportunity to learn foreign languages free of charge via an e-learning platform, which can be accessed on a 24/7 basis and all that is needed to learn is a smartphone with internet access. Digitised learning also includes webinars and online training courses.

In 2023, three companies, namely PGE S.A., PGE Baltica and PGE Systemy, implemented the Training Assistant application, which enables training processes to be conducted by exchanging documents electronically, thereby eliminating paper documentation.

On a similar basis, Recruitment Assistant, an application for managing recruitment processes in the organisation, was also implemented.

PGE employees are able to benefit from various forms of training-related subsidies. As a result, they attend training courses, events, workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses, symposia, as well as enhance their specialist knowledge and existing skills in classes organised as part of higher education and postgraduate programmes.

Furthermore, cooperation with the scientific community provides an opportunity for the implementation of scientific projects important for the company in the fields of power engineering, heat engineering, environmental protection, new technologies, but also economics, accounting, organisation and management and law, the sharing of experience with other PGE employees as well as scientific and didactic staff and students, the possibility of cooperating on finding solutions to problems of a theoretical nature, the practical use of the scientific and research base of the university, and the development of the competencies and continuous improvement of professional qualifications of PGE employees.

The company’s own coaching capacity is also being developed. In addition to the Knowledge and Development Centre, the “Academy of Expert Trainers” project continued at PGE Obrót in 2023, in which a group of employees with specialist knowledge and predispositions to act as expert trainers within the organisation had the opportunity to benefit from an additional development path within the organisation and expand their professional competencies.

A programme of in-house trainers for engine drivers and train managers was implemented at PGE Energetyka Kolejowa. In-house trainers check engine drivers’ knowledge and skills to determine their current level of competence and to identify an appropriate path of development individually for each employee. They provide development training to continuously improve participants’ knowledge of rolling stock construction, railway traffic regulations and railway safety standards. They are members of railway accident committees, train employees on their responsibilities in the event of an accident, as well as the consequences and prevention of railway accidents and incidents.

Development activities tailored to the needs of a particular company include one-to-one coaching sessions for employees of Customer Service Offices, or access to the Udemy platform for PGE Systemy employees, where they can benefit from a wide range of technical and general development training opportunities.

In Słotwiny near Łódź, PGE Energetyka Kolejowa employees improve their competencies at an innovative training ground. The learning process involves the use of multimedia, virtual reality devices, e-learning and a special section of an overhead contact line network to realistically replicate working conditions. The training ground can simulate extreme situations the handling of which would be impossible to practice in reality. The dedicated knowledge base includes incident scenarios from the company’s many years of experience. The training ground provides an opportunity to learn and practice in a safe environment all activities involved in maintaining a railway overhead contact line network, including checking its condition, as well as maintenance and replacement of its individual components. In 2023, 225 employees participated in theoretical training courses conducted on the training ground and 205 employees completed practical workshops. The training ground also hosted pupil trainees from profiled technical schools.

The process of knowledge acquisition and sharing also takes place through PGE employees’ cooperation on specific projects. PGE Baltica also cooperates with the foreign partner Ørsted on the construction of offshore wind farms.  The knowledge gained from this project will be applied to subsequent OWF construction projects.

In 2023, PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna introduced a new procedure called “The principles for the development of professional competencies and improvement of professional qualifications of PGE GiEK S.A. employees”. It constituted an integration of the principles applicable earlier in this respect to the employees of the company’s head office and branches.

At PGE Energetyka Kolejowa, the improvement of qualifications and technical skills is planned on the basis of “The Qualifications and Technical Skills Matrix for Direct Employees”. The matrix brings together in one place data on the qualifications and work experience of all employees, as well as information on status of the company’s property, plant and equipment. Such data are of primary importance in diagnosing employees’ competence gaps and the company’s training needs.

In July 2023, PGE Baltica launched a series of meetings and workshops as part of the development of a skills and competencies map for offshore wind farm (OWF) projects. Its aim is to safeguard the interests of the company by developing and implementing a system of successions/replacements for the company’s key positions and functions.

A manager’s influence on the effectiveness of their team at work, but also on their team members’ development, engagement and motivation is very high. Hence, in the PGE Group, great effort is put into their development of the necessary skills and attitudes. This is a crucial factor in the rapidly changing labour market, environment and needs.

Each of PGE Group company develops the competencies of its managers. For example, in PGE Obrót, new managers develop their competencies within the framework of the “Young Manager” package. Participants build their competencies in planning and goal-setting, authority-building and leadership, as well as communication with teams.

The “Manager’s Academy” is a development programme aimed at managers in the company PGE Synergia. The aim of the programme is to develop managerial competencies and build a management culture that meets current and future challenges coming from the market. The programme consists of six modules arranged in such a way that each participant receives a compendium of knowledge, skills and tools necessary for working with teams.

At PGE Energetyka Kolejowa, the second edition of the Manager’s ABC training series was completed in May 2023. It consisted of the following modules: Communication, Recruitment interviews, Induction of new employees, Goal setting and delegation, Motivation and self-motivation, Conducting periodic interviews, Change management.

2022 ended with the signing of a Social Agreement developed in connection with the energy transition and the planned spin-off of generation assets (lignite mines and power plants) from the four Energy Groups to the National Energy Security Agency. The agreement was entered into by representatives of the government, employers and the lignite and power generation sectors trade unions on 22 December. The other concluded document was a “pre-NABE” arrangement containing, among other things, a commitment by the Employers to apply and not change their existing intra-company sources of labour law, as well as to maintain the existing working conditions and salaries of employees in the period prior to the transition to the NABE. The agreement was to remain in force until the date of the establishment of the NABE or no later than 31 December 2023.

Following the circumstances presented above, other representatives of the social partner put forward a demand to develop a similar document aimed at safeguarding the status of energy sector workers and providing them with secure and stable jobs during the period of transition.

Tripartite negotiation meetings were initiated in Q1 2023. On 11 September 2023 they resulted in the signing of an agreement (preceding a social contract for the energy sector) concerning stable and secure working conditions and salaries for employees in the Polish energy sector. Its aim was to guarantee the stability of employers’ intra-company labour law source systems until the date of the execution of a social contract for the energy sector, but no later than 31 December 2023. Due to the failure to establish the NABE in 2023, the social contract of 22 December 2022 did not enter into force. Furthermore, due to the expiry of the deadline, the pre-NABE agreement and the agreement preceding a social contract for the energy sector expired on 31 December 2023.

The issue of a spin-off of coal assets is currently under review at the Ministry of State Assets. A return to discussions on a social contract safeguarding workers’ and trade unions’ rights and freedoms during the energy transition should be initiated once the future of coal assets has been decided.

Due to the challenging economic situation in Poland, trade unions have been continuously submitting demands for salary increases to employers in all segments of the PGE Group since the beginning of 2023. In the first half of the year, agreements were reached with PGE Group employers to determine a rate or amount of salary rises. It was assumed that the parties would resume talks on a possible second round of salary increases in the second half of the year.

In Q3 and Q4 2023, agreements were reached at most PGE Group workplaces on further salary increases. In the case of some employers, trade unions have decided to pursue their salary increase demands through industrial disputes.

On 3 April 2023, PGE S.A. acquired 100 percent of shares in PKPE Holding sp. z o.o. and, as a consequence, indirectly acquired 100 percent of shares in PKP Energetyka S.A. as well as shares in the other subsidiaries held by the company. As a result, the subjective scope of cooperation in the area of social dialogue in the PGE Group was considerably broadened. Immediate steps were taken to bring PGE Energetyka Kolejowa up to the Group’s standards. Among other activities, “The Corporate Principles of Social Relations in the PGE Group” were implemented. Operational cooperation was also established with the organisational unit responsible for social dialogue at PGE Energetyka Kolejowa, as well as relations with the trade unions operating at the Holding’s employers.

On 26 May 2023, representatives of the Management Board of PGE S.A. and representatives of two trade union organisations operating in the company (the “Solidarity” Inter-company Trade Union Organisation no. 2987 and the PGE Capital Group Employees Inter-company Trade Union Organisation) signed the Company Collective Labour Agreement for PGE S.A. Employees (hereinafter: “CCLA”). It was registered by the Regional Labour Inspector in Lublin on 19 June 2023. The validity of the most important piece of collective labour legislation in force in the workplace had been preceded by years of negotiations.

The agreement primarily regulates the company’s remuneration system. Its provisions introduced a number of benefits not previously found in it, including an incentive award, additional leave days for using up a previous year’s leave or a so-called school starter kit.  In parallel to the CCLA, the company’s remuneration regulations came into force, constituting an extension of the Agreement’s provisions. The document was introduced by an agreement with trade unions operating at PGE S.A. and became effective at the beginning of July 2023.

Thus, it should be concluded that the two aforementioned collective labour documents comprehensively regulate the conditions of remuneration of PGE S.A. employees and constitute an expression of fruitful and substantive cooperation with social partners.

In connection with the ongoing project aimed at establishing the National Energy Security Agency in 2023, intensive activities were conducted at PGE GiEK S.A. to build a new human capital management model. As the process of setting up the NABE has not been completed, the implementation of the new NLC model has been put on hold.

In 2023, work was also underway to address the phenomenon of the generation and skills gap. A task team was established to develop rules for employee migration among PGE GiEK subsidiaries and branches. The team identified issues affecting successful migration/allocation of workers and carried out a thorough analysis of employers’ human resources in terms of growth of employment and smaller human resources (demand forecast) and an analysis of the internal and external labour market (supply forecast). The measures developed by the team were approved by the PGE GiEK Management Board. In 2024, the work of the team will be aimed at developing systemic solutions for cooperation among the employers within the PGE Mining and Conventional Power Generation segment.

The human capital management policy of the Heat Generation segment focuses on driving the company’s transformation towards low-carbon heat generation through the acquisition, development, retraining and retention of employees with required competencies. 

The aim of the taken measures is broadly understood support for employees and managers in shaping an internal environment that is conducive to dialogue, working in partnership, implementing change and ensuring the long-term development of the organisation.

It will also provide an opportunity to strengthen the Polish scientific thought. This is why PGE Baltica has started to develop a network of scientific cooperation. In this way, it wants to involve Polish universities and scientific institutions in the development of the Polish offshore wind energy sector, while at the same time building Poland’s local content potential. On the one hand, such cooperation brings with it the possibility of adjusting new technologies to the requirements of the offshore wind energy sector on the basis of joint scientific and research projects, while, on the other hand, it is an excellent opportunity to establish a basis for training future personnel so necessary for the dynamically growing new sector. PGE Baltica organises a postgraduate programme of studies in the area of offshore wind power generation together with the Maritime University in Gdynia and the Gdańsk University of Technology. Furthermore, at the Gdańsk University of Technology, it supports the master’s degree programme addressed to studies intending to specialise in designing and building marine power generation and distribution systems.

The postgraduate programme entitled “Offshore wind energy: preparation, implementation and management of investment projects” is a reaction to demand for specialists in this particular discipline. Launched in October 2022, this is a new course developed jointly by PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna and the Łazarski University in Warsaw. This is the first course in Poland whose objective is to prepare specialists managing investment processes in the offshore wind energy sector.

In close cooperation with scientific institutions, the Centre in Ustka plans to implement state-of-the-art technologies, including an innovative concept for the construction of a so-called digital twin based on the Hi Tech technology for training and preventive diagnostics, build a unique set of simulators in a VR (virtual reality) model for training purposes, develop a methodology for testing innovative technologies in an operational environment and conditions for conducting implementation-oriented doctoral research studies and storing the acquired knowledge. The commercialisation of undertaken projects and close attention paid to compliance with intellectual property protection regulations will create sources of real revenue and significantly optimise O&M costs.

On 26 October 2022, the Multidisciplinary Research Centre at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, with which the PGE Group actively cooperates, among others, in the field of cybersecurity and digital data analytics, started to operate an independent organisational unit. Cooperation with the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw includes testing key corporate systems used in the PGE Group, for example the purchasing system, conducting workshops and practical training events in the field of cybersecurity, developing competencies in protection against threats, incident detection and handling, cybersecurity management, as well as renting specialised infrastructure necessary for performance testing of power distribution systems.  Outside the IT area, renewable energy and circular economy projects are also being implemented, including the recycling of wind turbine blades. These activities are in line with PGE’s business strategy and are some of the many examples of innovative initiatives undertaken by the PGE Group.