The company has about 7,200 employees across all Group activities. Roughly 67% of the workforce is male and 33% female. Xcaret employs its workforce directly through its talent management team. Workers are provided individual contracts, covering both fixed and temporary workers, the latter of which are hired seasonally to cover peak travel periods during the year. An additional 1,400 jobs will be created when Hotel Xcaret Arte becomes operational end of 2021.
HR Policies and Procedures, Working Conditions and Terms of Employment:
Xcaret has a Talent Management Policy (TMP) and system that considers and incorporates various elements of the group’s Human Rights, Philanthropic and Community Relations policies. The TMP incorporates elements of the four core labor standards on freedom of association, freedom from forced labor and from child labor, and non-discrimination in employment. To support the TMP, the company has developed several HR related operational procedures aligned with Mexican labor laws. Some operational procedures of the management system are still being developed (e.g., worker training, induction, working hours, wages, overtime, compensation and benefits). The TMP should be updated to reflect the core labor standards in addition to previously mentioned considerations, consistent with PS2 requirements.
The company’s employees enjoy a variety of benefits, including awards for attendance, food vouchers, savings funds, skills training, daily transportation to and from work, prepared meals at the Company’s dining halls while at work, etc.
The company has a Code of Conduct that applies to all workers. The Code of Conduct specifically addresses gender-based violence and harassment, healthy and safe workplace practices, the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco in the workplace, training on occupational health and safety (OHS) matters, conflicts of interest, confidentiality of information, use of social media, among several other topics.
Grupo Xcaret is participating in a gender equality accelerator program designed to give members of the UN Global Compact a way to deepen the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles and strengthen their contribution to Sustainable Development Goal (5.5), which calls for equal women representation, participation and leadership in business globally. As part of this initiative, Xcaret will develop a Gender Empowerment and Equality Plan to strategically address gender inequities and gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace, supply chain and with external partners. Inequities and constraints to women’s advancement will be mapped and impacts to the business measured and monitored against KPIs. Mitigants to address root causes will be designed to progressively build on achievements accomplished through a phased timeline and process, which could include compulsory gender sensitization training for all workers and an exclusive channel (e.g, mobile application, confidential hotline, etc.) dedicated to addressing complaints or concerns in the worker grievance mechanism (discussed below). The Plan will align with the UN Global Compact principles and gender inclusion requirements referenced across PS1-8 (ESAP 2).
Freedom of Association, Collective Bargaining:
Nearly 35% of the current 7,400 employees are unionized, under one of 14 collective bargaining agreements currently regulating labor and working conditions with several Unions. The relationships with the unions are strong, based on mutual respect and longstanding relationships. Collective agreements are reviewed on a yearly basis and salaries and benefits adjusted every other year. During the pandemic, union members receive reinforced training on how to prevent and stop the spread of COVID-19, including hand washing, proper use of face masks, etc.
Grievance Mechanism:
Despite having practices and systems in place to collect workers concerns, there is no documented grievance mechanism policy or procedure in the management system. The company will thus develop and implement a documented grievance handling procedure building upon its current practices and PS2 requirements. The company will articulate the various channels to receive grievances (including provisions for submitting anonymous grievances); procedures for internal handling of grievances, escalation as necessary, and timeline for resolution of all grievances received. The grievance mechanism will be available to all the contractors’ and third-party workers as well. (ESAP 3)
Occupational Health and Safety:
The company’s OHS program, known internally as the 360 Safety Protocol on Health and Safety, is aligned with GIIP. Xcaret has conducted enterprise risk assessment, hazard identification and risk assessment on OHS risks in the workplace and all operations.
Regular training programs and induction trainings are conducted on-site on several health and safety related topics. Employees and third-party workers undergo regular health screenings and have access to medical care on-site if needed. OHS statistics (fatalities, incidents records) are monitored regularly and no major injuries have been reported in recent years.
Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Temporary shutdowns were first announced by the management team in March 2020. Since then, the company has implemented a series of measures to minimize and mitigate impacts of the economic slowdown and shutdowns for its workforce. For this, Xcaret implemented several temporary adjustments to its workforce, in accordance with the local labor laws and in consultation with the workers’ union, including:
i. discontinuing temporary contracts in order to not furlough others employed, under permanent contracts;
ii. furloughing of approximately one thousand workers associated with two business units (Xplor Fuego and Xavage) that remain indefinitely closed (2020);
iii. furloughed workers were compensated when terminated and given priority in recruitment when demands for additional workforce increased. Today nearly half of furloughed workers have been reemployed by Grupo Xcaret.
iv. maintaining all regular employees in the salary and benefits plan (includes social security, medical, etc.),
v. negotiated agreement (for an average of 25% reduction in pay), linked to a phased back to work plan, which considers the essential nature of the job as well as health and safety considerations in the workplace;
vi. returning to normal pay conditions between October to December, depending on market conditions;
vii. COVID 19 testing for all workers, prior to returning to work; and health and safety training (over 80,000 man-hours so far) to all workers on proper health protocols to follow (general and according to job function), upon returning to work.
Additional assistance provided to workers to alleviate economic impacts resulting from the pandemic includes providing free masks and cleaning supplies, loans, subsidies, training and development opportunities. Temporary workers affected by the shutdown have progressively been returning to work due to an uptick in business demand.
Other health and safety measures being implemented to control the spread of COVID-19 include: (i) developing policies and procedures relating to COVID-19 testing and contact tracing; (ii) implementing a communications campaign for workers and their families on prevention and management of the illness; (iii) mass testing effort that resulted in 4,000 COVID tests for those returning to work; (iv) random monitoring and testing of workers for COVID-19 at each of the business units; (v) coordinating with Red Cross to facilitate testing; and (vi) assisting those who have tested positive with contact tracing. In view of similar events occurring again in the future, the company will develop a corporate procedure, as part of its ESMS and HR manuals, for the reduction of personnel, compliant with local labor laws, and IFC PS2 requirements, and based on lessons learnt from this recent experience (ESAP 4).
Workers Engaged by Third Parties
The company has few third-party contractors, except for those that provide specialized services, generally requiring special legal authorizations and/or certifications, as defined by law. The company includes performance requirements related to E&S issues in their contracts and monitors contractor’s compliance with local laws.
When developing new assets, Xcaret hires a project management company (PMC) who oversees the project, safety performance and legal compliance. For future greenfield projects, the company will require the PMC to develop a construction management plan and will oversee its implementation including safety on site (ESAP 5).