TIM people

Health and safety

The Health and Safety at Work Management System implemented by TIM ensures that the Company complies in full with national legislation and agreements reached with trade unions; it also establishes numerous initiatives aimed at ensuring increasing safety for workers.

[G4-LA5] In Italy, the reference legislation is the Consolidated Law on Health and Safety at Work, which, amongst other aspects, specifically requires participation and consultation on the matter with the workers’ representatives. The regulation requires the workers’ safety representative to be elected or designated by the workers from the trade unions present in the company. [G4-LA8], [G4-LA5] The number and method of designation or election of workers’ safety representatives, together with the salaried working hours and the tools used to fulfil duties, are established during collective bargaining. The legislation is applied throughout Italy and, in particular, as concerns TIM, Health and Safety Committees have been established. According to the agreements stipulated with the trade union organisations, these Committees play a participatory and collaborative role aimed at guaranteeing joint analyses and discussion by the company party and the union party of all matters relating to health and safety at work, on a national and territorial level. To this end, the agreement establishing the Committees states that both the Joint National Health and Safety Committee (CPSSN) and each of the four Joint Territorial Health and Safety Committees (CPSSTs) shall number three members appointed by the Company and three members appointed by the trade unions signing the agreement. Apart from the specific duties assigned by the agreement to the Committees, the CPSSN has the task of coordinating and instructing the CPSSTs, which, in turn, act as an interface with, and support, the workers’ representatives.

[G4-LA7] In TIM S.p.A., working activities have been classified as low and medium risk, in line with the definitions provided by the reference legislation, in accordance with the ATECO classification of the National Statistics Institute. There are no high-risk activities present in the company. Nor indeed are there any high-risk activities carried out in the other Group associates.

[G4-DMA Occupational Health and Safety] In 2016, the main areas of action in the field of health and safety at work related to planning and developing a series of information and awareness-building initiatives to strengthen safety culture in the Company. In particular, the contents of a communication campaign were defined that provides for initiatives to reduce accidents, particularly by making improvements aimed at changing individual behaviour and the work process.

The project involved the creation of digital information and updating products, aimed at all employees, instructing them on how to correctly apply safety rules at work and focusing specifically on the management of fire and first aid emergencies.

Moreover, campaigns of targeted measures related to vibrations, noise, electromagnetic fields and micro-climates continued to ensure accurate monitoring of risk control measures. In order to improve the risk assessment process, dedicated software was also introduced to determine the level of risk associated with the use of chemical substances and preparations. Also during 2016, training continued for all employees involved in safety management, which included the continuation of safe driving courses for personnel who use company cars.

As regards strengthening awareness of health and safety matters, particularly in the supply chain, 16 checks on principal suppliers were carried out during 2016.

The drive to reduce accidents also involved the main Network contractor companies, with a workshop aimed at raising awareness and discussing the operational aspects of greatest impact in accident prevention terms.

During the second half of the year, the Industrial Relations protocol between the Company and the unions was formalised, confirming the central role of the Joint Committees (Central and Local) in respect of health and safety at work.

Benchmarking activities promoted by TIM continued in 2016, with the involvement of the main Italian network companies (Enel, Poste Italiane, Ferrovie dello Stato, Rai, Terna, Anas, Autostrade per l’Italia, Vodafone, etc.), with regular meetings held to discuss matters of health and safety and workshops, organised on a rotation basis by each company, with the participation of sector experts and institutional entities. The topics discussed included measures to control and reduce accidents at work, health checks and reducing the risk of attacks in front line work.

Accidents and occupational diseases

31.12.201631.12.201531.12.2014
Number of accidents (excluding travel)524554566
Severity index(*)0.230.210.34
Frequency rate(*)8.668.318.96
Average duration in hours145.51139.93131.62
Unproductivity index(*)1.521.421.39
Accidents per 100 workers1.211.271.30

(*) The severity, frequency and unproductivity indexes are respectively:

  • the number of conventional working days lost due to accident per thousand hours worked
  • the number of accidents per million hours worked
  • the number of hours lost due to accidents per thousand hours worked

The positive downward trend in the number of accidents at work continued in 2016, with a 5.4% fall compared to 2015. In particular, the analysis of accident figures shows a fall in the number of accidents x 100 workers, while the other figures show a slight increase on 2015, due to the increase in the average duration of the individual events.

Details on accidents, occupational diseases and absences required by standard GRI-G4 [G4- LA6a] are given in the appendix to this chapter.

The main types of injuries recorded were, in decreasing order: falls, road accidents, sprains, pulled muscles, handling of materials, impacts and other minor types.

As regards occupational diseases, the reports made to INAIL during the year of reference and processed for acknowledgement, were considered.

In 2016, the occupational diseases reported by workers concerned pathologies relating to neoplasias, musculoskeletal system and hearing/voice systems and psychological/ psychosomatic illness.

[G4-LA7] In accordance with the relevant legislation, TIM personnel were rated as being at low/medium risk in their activities. There are no workers in the company who perform activities/processes that expose them to a high risk of contracting specific illnesses.

[G4-LA6cTIM has a procedure in place describing the rules and requirements of each subject in the “genesis” process, the management and closure of reports of incidents at work and/or while travelling involving workers for which companies are required to pay an INAIL [Italian national institute for insurance covering accidents at work] premium. The procedure establishes that when an injury occurs, the worker shall send an injury certificate to his manager and to the HR management. The latter shall then submit a report of the injury to INAIL, which, after suitable checks, shall either confirm or reject the injury. If the injury is not recognised, the days for which the worker is absent will automatically become days of absence for ordinary sickness.

In Brazil

[G4-DMA Occupational Health and Safety] At TIM Brasil, all newly hired employees receive training on health and safety. Controls are also regularly run to identify the risks and related control measures, the results of which are given in the document entitled Environmental Risk Prevention Programme. This document, which is prepared for each TIM site, is updated once a year, as established by the law.

Each year, the Internal Accident Prevention Week is held, during which employees are informed on the risks relating to the workplace and the related control measures.

[G4-LA5] TIM Brasil sites with more than 50 employees set up internal committees for the prevention of accidents at work (Cipas). There are 11 of these committees across the country. These committees are made up of employees, 50% of whom are elected by employees in roles of responsibility and the remaining 50% by employees without roles of responsibility. In company sites with fewer than 50 employees, one employee is specifically trained to follow these activities.

In TIM Brasil 27 people are involved in prevention activities.

[G4-LA8] As a rule, in Brazil the collective agreements establish that information shall also be given on the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases, and TIM Brasil adopts this practice.