Press Releases

Budapest, December 6, 2010 17:00

The document, compiled jointly with the employee representation organizations, has been signed today by Christopher Mattheisen, Magyar Telekom�s Chairman-CEO and Éva Somorjai, Chief Human Resources Officer and György Varjú, Chairman of the Central Works Council, Attila Bujdosó, Chairman of the Telecommunications Trade Union and Krisztián Bontovics, Chairman of the T-Net Trade Union.

Magyar Telekom Plc. and the employee representation organizations adopted on September 23, 2008 the company's first Equal Opportunities Plan for years 2008-2010. The document adopted today contains the equal opportunities initiatives the company expects to carry out in years 2011-2012. The purpose of the measures is to promote the implementation of equal opportunities for employees who belong to the specific target groups and to strengthen the overall commitment of the company's employees to the cause of equal opportunities.

Chairman-CEO Christopher Mattheisen said after signing the document: "Magyar Telekom belongs to the few players of the competitive sector for which the issue of creating an employment environment in which equal opportunities can be ensured is not a mere lip service. It means specific steps to be taken by the company in order to actually ensure equal opportunities for its employees. The Equal Opportunities Plan and the actions contained therein all serve this purpose."
Chief Human Resources Officer Éva Somorjai said: "Apart from the measures set out in the Equal Opportunities Plan I think the message implied therein is exceedingly important as well. We are confident that we shall walk the talk for other companies also, and increasingly more of them will realize that only responsible thinking is able to serve sustainable development. We do hope that an increasing number of them will join initiatives of this kind pursuant to this recognition."

Parties have identified the following target groups in the Equal Opportunities Plan: women; employees with a family (especially those raising three or more under 18 children and raising their children alone and employees who raise disabled children or care for a permanently ill family member); employees on childcare leave and employees with a changed ability to work or disabled employees.

The company is contemplating measures aimed at promoting women's advancement and professional career at the company, while for families it is mainly the programs and measures that ensure work-life balance that will be placed in the focus. As for employees on childcare leave the emphasis will be on keeping contact with them, and improving the possibilities for them to take part in training so that they can return and reintegrate in the company. For employees whose ability to work changes and disabled employees the improvement of the employment situation will be given emphasis.

The employee representation organizations ensure their support for the equal opportunities initiatives and have offered their active involvement in the implementation of the planned measures.
Achievements of Magyar Telekom as a responsible employer were recognized earlier on several occasions. Most recently, in November 2010, the company won the HR Oscar Prize founded by the Hungarian Association of Personnel Consultants. Last March the company also won the Golden Bridge award for the HR Team of the year. Following the Family-friendly Workplace 2008 award, the company won Hungary's Best Employer award last year on the basis of feedback provided by its employees, and it was granted Central and Eastern Europe's Best Employer award last summer. Magyar Telekom also holds the Healthy Workplace 2009 award of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (AmCham).