Employees are our most precious resource and asset, and their growth is a major driving force for our development. We solidly promote the strategy of "promoting corporate development with high-quality talent," optimize the employee growth and development system, improve the training mechanism, and strengthen talent cultivation to provide more employees with opportunities for growth and help them realize their value. We also put our best effort into maintaining our employees' physical and mental health and build a safe and healthy working environment, so as to protect their rights and interests from multiple dimensions and to share the results from the Company's growth and development with all employees.

Human Rights Protection

CNOOC Limited insists on employment in accordance with laws and regulations, creates an open, transparent, equal, and diversified working environment, safeguards all rights and benefits that our employees are entitled to under the law, attaches importance to the democratic management of employees, continuously improves the internal employment management system and builds a harmonious labor relationship.

Legal Employment

CNOOC Limited acts in strict compliance with local laws and regulations, such as the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China and the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, and international conventions ratified by the Chinese Government, such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. We have established our own Employment and Labor Contract Management System and Overseas Employee Management System, respecting all employees' legal rights which include but not limited to the legal rights on remuneration and dismissal, employment and promotion, work hours, vacations, and other benefits.

We strictly comply with the Prohibiting Child Labor Provision in China and other legal requirements for the prohibition of employing child labor in the countries or regions of our operation, and deliberately review the original and photocopy of the ID card during recruitment, to prohibit any employment or use of child labor. No case of child labor has occurred within the reporting period. We strictly conform to labor laws, abide by stipulations on salary, hours of overtime, and statutory benefits as required by local authorities, and prohibit forced labor. For this reporting period, no case of forced labor has occurred. All employees of the Company have signed the employment contracts with the Company on an equal and voluntary basis. For any forced labor or child labor identified, we will, in compliance with the requirements of the local labor bureau, immediately terminate such arrangement.

Respect and Protection of Human Rights

CNOOC Limited abides by the international conventions ratified or signed by the Chinese government, such as the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation, and the National Human Rights Action Plan; we also abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, and the National Human Rights Action Plan (2021-2025) to end any disregard for and abuse of human rights.

For overseas operations, the Company is determined to adopt the country's human rights legislation requirement and international human rights convention, strictly abide by local laws and regulations, and strengthen the cooperation with local labor organizations. By formulating relevant systems and measures, we supervise overseas employment behavior, fully protect the legal rights and interests of overseas employees, strengthen humanistic care, build harmonious labor relations, and promote the balanced development of economic and social benefits. The Company's overseas local employees and Chinese employees have all signed the CNOOC Compliance Manual for Entities and Employees, which covers employee rights, anti-discrimination, anti-violence and other aspects. CNOOC North America has developed the "Speaking Up Standard" to ensure that all issues raised are properly addressed.

The Company provides well-rounded talent protection and human rights training to ensure that employees understand human rights and have the ability to identify potential threats to human rights. We require all employees to participate in human rights-related training. The Company's Internal Control and Human Resources departments assess the potential human rights impacts related to the Company's activities and integrate them with the Company's internal management system to enhance employees' sense of security and effectiveness regarding human rights protection. In 2023, the Company carried out multiple rounds of overseas risk warning education and compliance training for new and expatriate employees to strengthen their compliance awareness.

Equal Employment

We comply with diversity and non-discrimination principles and prohibit recruitment clauses contrary to the principle of faireness, such as "gender, ethnicity, marital status, religion or hepatitis B infection". We insist on fair and equal treatment in our recruitment, training, promotion, and compensation, regardless of race, nationality, religion, gender, marital status, and other legally protected characteristics. The Company and its employees (including overseas local and Chinese employees) sign the Compliance Manual for Employees, which includes the contents on equal and lawful employment, anti-discrimination, anti-violence, etc., to protect the human rights of employees. The Company adheres to gender equality, actively increases the number of female employees, implements Special Rules on the Labor Protection of Female Employees, guarantees the legitimate rights of female employees, and develops training programs for female positions.

Adhering to the principle of "inclusiveness and reciprocity, mutual benefit and win-win outcome", CNOOC Limited respects the cultural diversity of different countries and the customs of local residents, advocates mutual understanding and communication between employee s of different nationalities, from different regions and with different cultural backgrounds, in a bid to establish a dynamic work environment. CNOOC Limited has launched operations in over twenty countries and regions in six continents, including Indonesia, Nigeria, the U.S., Brazil, Australia, and the U.K. The international cooperation projects have brought plentiful job opportunities to local people in the countries of our operation.

Safeguard of Rights and Interests

In compliance with the Labor Union Law of the People's Republic of China, we have established labor unions at all levels, which are responsible for supervising the Company's fulfillment of responsibilities and obligations and the implementation of all business activities related to employees' benefits and communicating with the management of the Company on behalf of employees. The Company respects and supports the employees' freedom of association, assembly, and joining a labor union organization conferred by the law while maintaining close communication with the legal department and labor unions.

We have established a comprehensive and effective security system to promptly handle various types of social insurance and multi-level supplementary insurance for employees. The social insurance participation rate of our employees has reached 100%. In addition to the basic types of social insurance, including pension, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance, and maternity insurance, we added personal accident insurance, commercial supplemental health insurance, and critical illness insurance to our supplementary insurance portfolio. We also set up enterprise annuity and housing subsidies and constantly improve digitalized and convenient health services to reinforce our efforts in safeguarding our employees. The Company provides welfare physical examination for employees. In 2023, a total of 64 items were added to employee physical examination, and targeted physical examination programs were offered to our employees, to provide them with sufficient reference for monitoring physical health.

CNOOC Limited comprehensively protects the legal rights and interests of local employees in our overseas operations, strictly abides by local employment regulations in each jurisdiction, and provides employees with vacation, social insurance, and other benefits in compliance with local labor laws and regulations. We establish the corresponding salary adjustment and incentive mechanisms under local conditions to encourage local employees to grow together with the Company.

Employee Development

Following the strategy of "Promoting Corporate Development with High-Quality Talent" and the concept that talents are the primary resources, CNOOC Limited implements a talent policy that can stimulate vitality and highlight value to a greater extent. We improved training system, optimized employee growth and development system, and cleared the path for talent growth to enable employees to become the backbone of our high-quality development.

Talent Strategy

We implement the Talent Development Plan to promote high-quality development with high-quality talent and aim to create an excellent employer brand. To increase our attraction to talents, we release our hiring information via multiple channels such as campus recruitment, cooperation with schools, and social recruitment.

Focusing on strategic and industrial planning, we strengthen the cultivation of strategic and high-caliber talents. Since 2020, we have selected trainees to be mentored every three years. They are tutored and enjoy the priority in scientific research support to participate in major scientific and technological projects and core technology studies. 2025, 2035, and 2050 will be three crucial points in time for realizing this strategy of promoting corporate development with high-quality talent. We aim to increase the proportion of mid-to-high-level talents such as academic, strategic, and technical experts.

Career Development

Employees are our most precious resource and asset. We set up four career sequences of Management (including sales) (M), Business (B), Technology (T), and Workers (W) to standardize pathways for employees' promotion and career development and facilitate their transition among sequences.

The Company distinguishes the business characteristics, levels, and career development channels of each position, improves the differentiated assessment and incentive mechanism, and establishes a comprehensive point-based evaluation system for promoting to achieve the fast promotion of the excellent, the slow rise of the average, and the removal of the inferior. The management sequence is designed strictly in accordance with the principle of ability for determining the positions. Managers at the mid-level or above are appointed in accordance with regulations, and the "Two Systems, One Contract" management is implemented. The business sequence is selected and promoted step by step according to positions. The technical sequence has increased incentives, implementing the evaluation and employment system management for two-level experts and the contracted employment period system for middle-to-high-level technical positions. Skill sequence positions are encouraged to be graded and promoted through vocational skill level verification.

The Company optimizes the transition channel between sequences, clarifies the qualification criteria for each sequence, sets up a guiding and stimulating sequence transition policy according to the Company's development strategy and critical tasks, and encourages outstanding talents in other sequences to work in primary or key business sequences of the Company. Those who meet the selection criteria of the cadre in each sequence may participate in the selection and competition by procedures to work in management positions.

Employee Training

We have established a multi-level employee training system and continuously empower employees as needed. In 2023, we continued to implement our talent development and essential training plans, focusing on crucial specialties and critical roles. The Company stepped up its efforts on the “Haixue” online learning platform, added 7,736 new courses and organized 308 online courses of special topics. Such approach promoted the coordination and integration of online and offline training, improved employees’ professional competence and created a good learning atmosphere. A three-year training program, i.e., “Ocean Sprout Project” has also been developed for new employees.

Training Performance Table of the Company in 2023

Cultivation of International Talents

CNOOC Limited continues to reinforce the cultivation of international talents. With a focus on the priorities and difficulties in overseas business development, we have established a systematic training system and a global talent reserve mechanism featuring hierarchical linkage. In 2023, we selected and sent business backbones to participate in the international talent training course, a centralized and closed training courses in two phases, each for a period of five months. The training covered six modules on language, cross-cultural communication, strategic thinking, professional ability, and leadership ability. Participants completed the training by participating in various activities, such as lectures, sharing and exchange, case study workshops, topic debates, and project presentations.

Care for Employees

CNOOC Limited strictly implemented relevant regulations on holidays in China and countries of operation to protect employees' rights for statutory public holidays. Apart from statutory public holidays, we provide paid annual and family visit leave, extend maternity leave and encourage staff to take vacations and rest. For migrant staff, we offer temporary housing and other living assistance. We also provide transitional apartments for single employees to help them find a better balance between life and work.

In terms of care for employees, the Company has implemented the following initiatives:

·      Promote the labor union's "Warm Project" to build friendly labor relations, and expand "e-union" coverage so that employees can enjoy its services more efficiently;

·   Respond to China's "Healthy China" initiative, carry out psychological counseling, crisis intervention, etc., and set up a 24-hour psychological counseling hotline to make wellness information publicity and psychological counseling more accessible;

·    Strengthen the construction of a "home for employees" and "staff's nest" in remote and underdeveloped areas as well as small, scattered, and distant frontline units, and promote the construction of facilities such as staff canteens, libraries, lounges, and entertainment rooms, and ensure that staff have access to warm help and mutual medical assistance;

·     Safeguard the rights and interests of female employees by undertaking activities such as "Women's Contribution", celebrating International "Women's Day," visiting female employees, to stimulate their sense of professional pride and happiness of female employees;

·    Establish and improve the incentive and care mechanism for overseas employees and the communication and assistance mechanism for their families, and further implement relevant measures starting with caring for the families of overseas employees;

·   Together with the People's Daily Online we arranged the "Health express" activities, with the purpose of providing employees with expert consultation, wellness inquiry, physical examination, healthy life experience and other care services.

In terms of medical support for employees, the Company further improved supplementary medical insurance, developed outreach programs for medical protection, and established cloud clinics to provide an express channel for medical treatment. This allowed frontline employees to receive video medical consultations and consultations with esteemed doctors on rare diseases through the Internet, raising the standard of medical services and health counseling for frontline workers. The Company further promoted the digital online claim settlement and direct payment for drug purchases under supplementary medical insurance to facilitate employees seeking medical treatment and purchasing drugs.

In 2023, many outstanding employee representatives emerged in the Company. They dared to shoulder the responsibility and actively took the initiative. These representatives embodied the spirit of the Company to share the fruits of sustainable development with employees and society, as well as the resolution of CNOOC Limited to realize the corporate value and take on social responsibilities.