Employees

MRS is proud of caring for its employees as its major asset.  It is no coincidence that one of the principles of the Company’s new strategic framework, implemented in 2022 (learn more at Profile), is dedicated precisely to People. In addition to offering a benefits policy that is above the legal requirements, investing in the training of its professionals, paying compensation that is compatible with the market, and encouraging quality of life among the team, the company continues, year after year, to evolve in key areas such as inclusion, diversity, and gender equity.

The concession renewal (learn more here), will impose some challenges to the People area at MRS from 2023 onwards. Among them are: keeping the evolution path in its diversity, equity, and inclusion indexes; increasing or at least maintaining the favorability percentage measured by the organizational climate survey; and training and qualifying a higher number of employees in different topics.

Human Rights

At MRS, working and resting conditions are preserved in the railway operation, with workshops and adequate employee schedules; and the same is required from the Company’s suppliers, pursuant to the guidelines of the Code of Conduct and Ethics. Although there is no specific assessment and systematized controls developed for the subject, MRS activities are covered by the Whistleblower Channel, with attention to Human Rights, labor laws and good market practices.

Note: All MRS employees have permanent full-time employment agreements. Sidelined employees and interns were not included.

Note: All MRS employees have permanent full-time employment agreements. Sidelined employees and interns were not included.

Note: All MRS employees have permanent full-time employment agreements. Sidelined employees and interns were not included.

Note: New hire rates for 2020 and 2021 are being restated in this report due to standardization in the calculation. For calculating the rate, we consider the number of new hires per category divided by the total number of employees in category GRI 2-4, without considering the interns.

Note: New hire rates for 2020 and 2021 are being restated in this report due to standardization in the calculation. For calculating the rate, we consider the number of new hires per category divided by the total number of employees in category GRI 2-4, without considering the interns.

Note: All MRS employees have permanent full-time employment agreements. Sidelined employees and interns were not included.

Benefits and compensation

The Company is also committed to offering compensation in line with market practices, supported by the Korn Ferry consulting methodology. Every year, any needs for adjustments are assessed to maintain market competitiveness. Variable compensation covers all employees and is impacted by three programs, which encourage employees to constantly seek better results:

The lowest nominal wage currently paid at MRS corresponds to 1.29 national minimum wage. The general average nominal wage is 3.38 minimum wages, with men corresponding to 3.19 minimum wages and women 4.54. There is no wage (or any other) distinction due to gender or race. The difference between the average nominal salary of women and men is justified by the higher share of men in operational positions.

In line with good practices, in 2021 MRS managers were trained in specific content on Labor and Union Relations. Since then, the topic has been the subject of monthly talks with managers, through the HR Committees, held in loco and with the presence of the People Department. (GRI 407-1)

Note: Excluding Executive Officers.
Average NS Average Nominal Salary by group/gender in December of the highlighted year.
Average TC Total Average Annual Cash (sum of fixed annual salaries + PS/Bonuses) for the highlighted year.

Organizational climate

The organizational climate continued to be a distinguishing feature of MRS in 2022. The survey carried out in December indicated 82.79% of employees’ favorability, in a sample with 85.6% of adherence.

The questions were grouped into four dimensions: Learning and Development, Satisfaction and Motivation Identity and Leadership. The last two had the highest scores with 88.7% and 86.04% of satisfaction, respectively. Based on the results obtained, managers of their respective areas, together with the People Department, prepared specific action plans to address, as far as possible, the most sensitive issues and allow increased recognition and appreciation of employees.

In 2023, after tests performed in 2022, the climate survey will be held on a bimonthly basis, thus enabling a continuous monitoring. Five multidisciplinary groups were created with a focus on career; work volume; compensation; encouragement and good communication practices between managers and their teams; and level of employee satisfaction with the company, with the aim of deepening, analyzing results and proposing action plans to be implemented throughout the year.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

MRS has a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion registered in its Organizational Guideline on Diversity and Non-Discrimination and expressed as a principle of its New Strategic Framework (learn more at Profile).

In 2022, actions aimed at leveraging diversity and promoting increased inclusion in the Company continued to intensify. As a result of the efforts made over the last few years, women accounted for 27.2% of all hires made in the period, ending the year with 924 employees at the Company, representing 17% increase as compared to the previous period. The presence of women in leadership positions (specialists, skilled and management) grew and jumped from 362 in 2021 to 448 in 2022, an increase of almost 24%. Other highlight concerning women is the expansion of the female presence in the railway operator course, in partnership with the SENAI System of Industrial Education and Learning, which provides training for positions of train driver, reaching a total of 1,210 women enrolled. During the period, MRS also continued to adapt its infrastructure along the railway network for the presence of women, investing, among others, in the construction of new additional restrooms and/or renovation of the existing ones.

In terms of ethnic and racial diversity, the Company exceeded the established target of 20% for leadership positions, ending the year with 23% of black, brown or indigenous people in the positions of specialists, skilled and management.

Other important achievement was the creation of the Diversity and Inclusion Commission, a multidisciplinary body comprising the CEO, People department, Institutional Relations department and employees from different careers and units, which continued to meet monthly to discuss projects and initiatives for the increase of diversity in MRS staff.  

In November, MRS held the 6th edition of the Diversity Week, promoting virtual and on-site events to discuss issues of gender and race. The action marked the kick-off of a great project, the Diversity and Inclusion Census, a survey that allowed the company to deeply understand aspects of the identity of its employees, as well as to capture their perceptions about the topics of diversity and inclusion and how the MRS is positioned and acts to promote them.

Adherence to the census was 53.6%, placing the Company very close to the benchmark of 58.1% recorded in the market. It should be noted, however, that MRS had a score higher than the market average in all four dimensions assessed.

For 2023, two projects already stand out: the implementation of a broad mentoring project focused on career development of the Company’s black employees and four classes of a course, aimed at male employees in the operational area, for the discussion of masculinities.

Note: Board Management: including only employees hired under Labor laws (CLT – acronym in Portuguese)

Employee training and development‌

MRS believes that people represent one of the most important pillars for the success of its business. Throughout 2022, Academia MRS invested over R$ 10.2 MM in training, improvement, certification and development actions.  Recognizing the value of its employees, in 2022 the Company dedicated efforts to training the team on three main fronts:

– Knowledge of the business and activities, ensuring operational safety;

– Individual approach associated with the job skills, combined with the Annual Development Plan;

– Looking to the future. Aiming to keep up with market trends, in line with the Company’s strategy and technical and behavioral skills, MRS has invested in training for innovation ambassadors, specialist in data intelligence, in addition to participating in events focused on the topic.

Through Academia MRS, various operational and personal safety training sessions were held, in addition to courses for qualification and improvement of the activities performed in the most diverse positions, covering most of employees. The average was 53.2 traning hours for each student/employee. Under the Education Incentive Program, whereby the Company pays part of the monthly tuitions for training and improvement courses, such as undergraduate, graduate, technical and language courses, 336 employees have graduated or continued their studies.

Aiming at qualifying and training employees for management and specialist positions, in 2022, MRS also continued:

– Leadership Training Program, with 78 graduates in partnership with the FIA Business School;

– Specialist Training Program: completed by 20 employees and with a new class started, comprising more 19 employees who will be trained in topics such as Agile Methods, Lean Six Sigma, Communication, Corporate Finance and Emotional Intelligence.

Other highlights of the year, regarding training and qualification, was the completion of a group of 20 employees in Specialization in Rail Cargo Transport, in partnership with the Military Institute of Engineering (IME – acronym in Portuguese) and the Training courses in Rail Operation taught by Academia MRS, in partnership with SENAI Industrial Teaching and Learning system, in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, training a total of 282 students.

Employees, broken down by gender and functional category, who received regular performance and career development assessments during the period covered by the report

(in %)