OREANDA-NEWS. ThyssenKrupp is committed to the inclusion of disabled people. In a joint declaration by the Group Executive Board and employee representatives, the Group undertakes to facilitate entry to ThyssenKrupp for people with disabilities, to support them, and to report each year on progress with inclusion.

“At ThyssenKrupp, mutual respect is one of our most important values. All our employees should enjoy equal opportunities. That is part of our corporate culture. We have now affirmed these values in our inclusion agreement, which provides a framework for their implementation,” said Oliver Burkhard, CHRO of ThyssenKrupp AG, at the conference for disabled representatives in Essen on September 14. The agreement defines concrete action areas such as the recruitment of people with disabilities, barrier-free workplaces, health management, and in particular training for young people with disabilities. This will be coordinated by a specially appointed officer, who will report once a year to the disabled representatives and mediate any conflicts.

“In this way we want to promote diversity in our workforce. The joint statement on inclusion by the employer and employee sides does not just underline the importance the Group attaches to diversity. It also sets out ways and means to implement inclusion in day-to-day working practice,” said Udo Petrack, Chairman of the Group’s representative body for disabled employees.

Guntram Schneider, Minister for Labor, Integration and Social Affairs in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, expressly welcomes the joint statement from Executive Board, Group Works Council and the Group’s representative body for disabled employees: “Equal participation for people with disabilities will be one of the most important topics occupying the state government in the coming years. But we will only be able to manage this task with support from all areas of society. That’s why actions by a major company like ThyssenKrupp send out such a strong signal – for example by providing targeted training for people with disabilities and promoting integration projects. The joint statement indicates a high regard for diversity. Now it is important to bring it to life – and I wish every success to everyone involved,” said Schneider at the conference in Essen.

On June 22 the Executive Board, the Group Works Council and the Group’s representative body for disabled employees signed a joint statement on inclusion in the ThyssenKrupp Group in Germany. At the conference for the Group’s disabled representatives in Essen on September 14, Udo Petrack, Chairman of the disabled representatives’ body, and Oliver Burkhard, Labor Director of ThyssenKrupp AG, presented the statement to the Minister and gave the starting signal for its implementation. Inclusion is aimed at equal participation and involvement by all people in public life. Nobody should be excluded from leading a self-determined life because of a disability, and this includes the right to an education and the right to work. ThyssenKrupp regards workplace inclusion, i.e. self-determined and equal participation by people with disabilities in working life, as a special corporate responsibility. ThyssenKrupp currently employs about 3.300 people with disabilities.

ThyssenKrupp is a diversified industrial group with traditional strengths in materials and a growing share of capital goods and services businesses. Over 155,000 employees in nearly 80 countries work with passion and technological expertise to develop high-quality products and intelligent industrial processes and services for sustainable progress. Their skills and commitment are the basis of our success. In fiscal year 2013/2014 ThyssenKrupp generated sales of around €41 billion.

Together with our customers we develop competitive solutions for the challenges of the future in the areas Mechanical, Plant and Materials. With our engineering expertise we enable our customers to gain an edge in the global market and manufacture innovative products in a cost- and resource-friendly way. For us, technical progress and innovations, allied with the combined strength of the Group, are key factors enabling us to meet current and future customer and market requirements around the world, grow on the markets of the future, and generate strong and stable earnings, cash flows and value growth.