Remuneration
Rio Tinto's total rewards strategy is designed to attract, retain and motivate the skilled workforce essential to the success of our business.
Base pay is reviewed regularly and adjusted as necessary taking into account the individual's role, local market trends and for many employees business and personal performance. This process allows us to ensure that employees are paid competitively against the external market and consistently with their internal peers.
At Rio Tinto, our total rewards package is about more than just competitive base pay, in addition we offer allowances, bonuses, share plans and healthcare benefits appropriate to the local markets in which we employ our teams.
The Group also has retirement benefit arrangements in place for many employees. It participates in state arrangements where offered and appropriate and supplements these with company arrangements in the main jurisdictions in which we operate. The main plans are audited regularly by auditors who are independent to the Group's auditors and we use independent advisers and actuaries to ensure that the plans are sustainable and adequately funded.
We not only comply with the employment legislation effective within the countries in which we operate, but look to apply a best-practice approach to remuneration. We aim to ensure that our remuneration systems are transparent and equitable. Equally qualified and experienced employees doing the same work to the same standards of performance will receive comparable remuneration and employment conditions regardless of gender, age, ethnic or social origin, sexual orientation, politics or religion unless as required by local laws.
Our results
In 2007, Rio Tinto directly employed approximately 39,000 people. In addition, Alcan employed an average of 67,000 people in 2007, including the Engineered Products and Packaging divisions. We spent US$ 4,175 million on wages and employee benefits, which represents about 12 per cent of our total economic contributions.
In 2006 we directly employed approximately 35,000 people. We spent US$2,658 million on wages and employee benefits, which represented about ten per cent of our total economic contributions in 2006.