During 2004, we continued our record, from July 1996, of no time lost by WMC people through industrial disputes. We completed major plant outages without disruption, although a number of contractors did lose time during the Kwinana Nickel Refinery shutdown without delaying the overall work. We began renewing the individual employment contracts for all our people. The new contracts emphasise the mutual benefits and expectations of the employment relationship. There has been a high level of acceptance to date. This contract renewal program will continue during 2005.

In December 2004, we made a share offer to our people as part of our ongoing performance-based share-ownership program. The program gives most of our people the opportunity to receive up to five percent of their base remuneration in WMC shares. The allocation is determined by comparing our company's performance to peer companies.

In recognition of the contribution of our people to our outstanding business performance during the year, in December we announced a pro-rated $3,000 bonus for the 95 percent of our people who do not participate in a short-term incentive program.

At 31 December 2004, we employed 3,066 people directly, with another 1,797 supporting our business as employees of our contractors.