Repsol

A pioneering initiative in Europe

Repsol presents its White Paper for Recruiting Disabled People

Press Release

9 July 2009 14:30 CET

Repsol has presented its White Paper on Recruiting Disabled People aimed at offering a guide of procedures that standardise and improve recruiting processes and manage diversity for these workers. 

The presentation took place in the Repsol Foundation headquarters, the Secretary General for Social Policy, Francisco Moza Zapatero, the Executive Vice-president of the ONCE Foundation (Organizacion Nacional de Ciegos de España), Alberto Duran, as well as the Repsol Foundation’s Executive Vice-president, Enrique Locutura and Repsol’s Executive Director of People and Organisation, Cristina Sanz Mendiola.

The publishing of this paper as part of the Repsol integration plan for disabled workers began in 2005. Thanks to this Plan, disabled employees have increased from 131 in December 2004, 0.80% of the total workforce, to 423 people in December 2008, representing 2.31% of the total workforce. The driving force of the Repsol management has been decisive in achieving these objectives.

The Repsol White Paper on Recruiting Disabled People is the first of its kind to be published by a European company, and is in keeping within the company values and enhances its commitment toward society. For Repsol, the integration of disabled people goes far beyond its legal duty, and responds to its conviction that employing disabled people is a benefit to the business. 

The Executive Vice-president of the Repsol Foundation, Enrique Locutura, said that the integration of disabled people is a major social need, and that this is a challenge that institutions, companies and organizations should face, and in particular, in the case of the Repsol Group, be more involved in incorporating disabled people.
 
The Executive Director of People and Organisation, Cristina Sanz Mendiola, expressed her wish that the paper “serve as an example to other companies who are making their first move to incorporate disabled people into their workforce and help them integrate into society”. 

The Executive Vice-president of the ONCE Foundation (Organizacion Nacional de Ciegos de España), Alberto Duran, highlighted in his speech the example set by Repsol by taking steps to revise its facilities and processes to boost the incorporation of disabled people into their workforce.

Repsol and disabled people

The company has implemented Global Access in two petrol stations, in Madrid and Zaragoza, verified by Spain’s certification agency AENOR (certificate number 170001.) In 2008, Repsol opened the first service station run entirely by disabled people in Móstoles (Madrid).

Repsol has a long history of developing different projects that uphold equal opportunities and integration, especially for those people having difficulties entering the labour market. Through the INSERTA program ONCE collaborates with the Repsol Foundation to incorporate disabled workers into big companies, and the Paideia Foundation works to develop different occupational training activities. 

Repsol has been awarded several prizes for its endeavours in incorporating disabled people and has been recognised by the Observatorio de Empresa y Sociedad as the company which has created most jobs between 2005 and 2007, and by the Spanish National Council of Disabled Representatives, (CERMI) in December 2008 for its commitment to integrating disabled people into society and the workplace.

Additional Information

Methodology for drawing up the paper:

With the purpose of guaranteeing integration results and to improve management procedures, Repsol has requested that the company Technosite provide technical support for the creation of this paper as follows:

• Documents: as a starting point, collecting and standardising all Repsol documents relating to disability.

• Interviews with key informants: 21 interviews carried out with people from the Human Resources management, Trade Unions, middle management, collaborating entities and employees.

• Discussion Groups: it was considered necessary that the analysis process for incorporating disabled people into Repsol depended on: 

o The disabled workers.
o Team leaders
o Colleagues of disabled workers.

• Case studies: carried out through direct surveillance and in depth interviews. A visit to two Repsol service stations managed in accordance with a special employment services agreement.