Ferrexpo expanded the program to support veteran employees of the company

In April 2023, the iron ore company Ferrexpo allocated UAH 39 million for the expansion of the company’s veteran employee support program, taking into account the needs of the demobilized, their social adaptation and further reintegration into the workforce.

Currently, about 700 employees of the company defend the integrity of Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces and perform combat tasks in various areas of the front. Ferrexpo has been supporting servicemen from among its employees since the first days of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, financing their mental and physical rehabilitation.

In addition, the company launched its own rehabilitation program. It provides for the creation of the most comfortable conditions, taking into account all the consequences of the war, so that the demobilized can fully return to society and the working environment. After completing their service in the ranks of the Ukrainian army, the company’s employees receive high-quality psychological and physical rehabilitation, as well as the necessary personal and professional consultations. In addition, support is provided for their family members for joint adaptation.

For demobilized workers, when returning to the workplace, working conditions will be reviewed and, if necessary, adapted, so that reintegration into the professional environment is quick and effective. Vocational retraining programs are provided for employees who, for objective reasons, cannot return to their usual workplace. They will be offered a new position, and the salary will not be less than the previous one.

“It is extremely important that Ferrexpo not only makes sure that the mobilized workers have all the necessary equipment, but also cares about the support of those who have already been demobilized from the front. Thus, through the support program for veterans, everything is provided so that war veterans can quickly return to work in the company after physical and psychological rehabilitation and social adaptation,” said the Ferrexpo employee Yevhenii Bogodist, who was demobilized on May 2, 2023, and will soon begin undergoing rehabilitation.

Currently, five people from among those previously mobilized have been demobilized at the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, three – who served under a contract; nine people were demobilized at Yeristivskyi Mining. With the support of Ferrexpo, rehabilitation services were provided to 116 veterans on the basis of the medical and sanitary unit and other medical facilities of the city, region and country, four of them have been reintegrated into the company’s working environment.

According to Anna Adom, Ferrexpo’s director of personnel and household management, the largest number of mobilized employees are men with an average age of 39. About 20% of them received severe injuries and require treatment in rehabilitation centers of Ukraine or other countries, 2% – require prosthetics.

“Our program involves a comprehensive approach and is aimed at reintegrating veterans into full-fledged social and professional life as effectively as possible. It will minimize the number of problems faced by demobilized workers when returning to their workplaces. In addition, the program will help maintain the stability of the company in conditions of personnel shortage,” Anna Adom notes.

The company will also take care of creating a healthy microclimate in structural divisions and assisting in the reintegration of employees who have returned from the war by their colleagues. The personnel of the company’s enterprises will be trained in the basics of interaction with people who have physiological deficiencies and/or post-traumatic stress disorder.

As GMK Center reported earlier, as a socially responsible business, Ferrexpo has been providing humanitarian support to defenders of Ukraine, and with the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, this work was significantly intensified. In particular, since the beginning of the humanitarian program, the company has handed over 22,400 units of ammunition and protective equipment for a total amount of $2.7 million to the country’s defense forces.