Cambior, based in Longueil, Quebec, was one of Canada’s largest gold producers, employing 2,700 people at mines in Québec, Peru, French Guyana, and Surinam. Of these, over 1,000 were based outside Canada. Their HR policies for managing these international employees are described below. 

Staffing 

Cambior has had no problems recruiting employees for its operations. The company finds that candidates who are attracted to international assignments tend to apply to organizations where these assignments are possible. Cambior used three types of postings to staff its mines:
1. Short-term assignments were used for special projects and during construction of the mine.
2. Home-based assignments where employees would spend periods of time at the mine and then return home for rest and recuperation. 

The longest period that an employee was on-site is 30 days, followed by 26 days of recuperation.
3. Long-term assignments, usually for executives, who moved with their families close to the mine. The biggest problems with these assignments was the education of the children and the careers of working spouses. 

Compensation 

Cambior used a tax equalization policy that guaranteed that an employee on assignment would be no better or worse off as a result of taxes. If the taxes were higher in the host country, then the company absorbed the costs of these extra payments. If they were lower, the excess reverted to the company. Employees were also given hardship allowances. Cambior established an employee leasing company that hired the employees for these international secondments, which allowed the employee to retain home-based benefits such as pension plans and employment insurance.

Health and Safety 

Cambior found that safety standards were consistent across their international operations, but health issues were more complex. For example, employees needed to be educated about malaria, and special provisions were made for other diseases not normally found in Canada. Employees had to feel assured that if there was a serious health issue, they would receive rapid medical treatment. Each site had a complete medical facility. Medical evacuations were done when the condition was life threatening. 

Violence is an issue in developing countries. Special sessions on topics such as kidnap training and emergency evacuation were provided.

Questions
1. Describe the advantages and limitations of Cambior’s staffing policies. How would you compare these to the advantages and limitations of employing host-country nationals?
2. What kinds of hardships would Cambior employees face? What would be appropriate compensation for these conditions?
3. What benefits required by law in Canada would be unlikely to be provided in developing countries?