NEWS FROM THE CWC SECRETARIAT
CWC Conference
The CWC Conference was held on Sunday September 24- Monday September
25 in Berlin, Germany ahead of the PRI In Person
meeting. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to two
days of lively discussion on key topics related to the
responsible stewardship of workers' capital. Our report is
forthcoming. If you participated, please take a moment to provide
us with feedback:
Portrait d'administrateur/Trustee Profile:
Philippe Soubirous
The CWC published the third of a series of action profiles on
how pension trustees from across the world deal with salient ESG
issues at the board level.
- Lisez notre portrait de Philippe
Soubirous en français (original)
- Read our profile of Philippe Soubirous in
English
Woolworths
Two shareholder resolutions have been filed at the
upcoming Woolworths AGM (Nov. 23) by LUCRF Super (National Union of Workers
superannuation fund) and the Australian Centre for Corporate
Responsibility (ACCR) and are supported by the Australian Council of Trade Unions
(ACTU).
Recent media reports of severe labour
rights violations and poor workplace practices in Woolworths’
supply chain highlight the company’s exposure to
environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. Most of these
reports have entailed the exploitation of migrant workers.
Special
Resolution 7 (a) aligns the company’s
constitution with global best practice, making it
simpler for shareholders to voice concerns. Contingent
resolution 7 (b) proposes human rights
reporting measures for early identification and
mitigation of risks to shareholder value posed by adverse human
rights impacts in operations and supply chains.
The CWC recommends a vote FOR these proposals.
SHARE and the CWC
have moved to a new office. Please note that our new address
is Unit 510 – 1155 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 1B5
NEWS AND NOTES FROM CWC PARTICIPANTS
Global
As discussed during the Berlin CWC Conference, CWC participants,
including UNISON, the Dutch FNV and the American Federation of
Teachers' will seek to improve collaboration and alignment in
their work on fees in the investment chain in 2018. The Financial Times reported on the CWC's work
in this article (please email us if you want to receive
a copy of the article).
Australia
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) provided CWC
participants with an update on its capital
stewardship work. This includes support for the Woolworths'
shareholder resolution, the US Human Capital
Management Coalition petition
to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and
the Teamsters (US) and ITF's campaign against XPO Logistics.
ACTU is also backing a new round of initiatives to address Archer Capital's
(Fund V) Aerocare, an aviation services provider
that continues to undermine Australian labour standards and
breach ILO Convection rights. ACTU joins the Australian
industry and public sector superannuation sector in fighting the
Turnbull Government strategy to destroy Australia’s successful all-profit-to-member
superannuation system.
France
Le RAIR a apporté son appui de principe à la Déclaration
d'investisseurs institutionnels faite au Canada sur les risques
financiers liés au changement climatique.
Trente institutions financières et caisses de retraite
canadiennes et internationales, dont les actifs sous gestion
s’élèvent à environ 1,2 billion de dollars canadiens, et 13
organisations (dont le RAIR) qui appuient la présente
Déclaration, ont lancé un appel aux sociétés inscrites en bourse
au Canada afin que celles-ci s’engagent dans une divulgation
accrue d’information sur les risques auxquels elles sont exposées
en matière de changements climatiques, ainsi que sur les mesures
qu’elles prennent pour les gérer.
United
States
The
Human Capital Management Coalition (HCM Coalition), a global
group of 25 institutional investors representing over $2.8 trillion
in assets, submitted a rulemaking petition to the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) urging the adoption of standards that
would require listed companies to disclose information on human
capital management policies, practices, and performance.
The petition builds the investor case for enhanced disclosure
while providing a foundation upon which the SEC can develop
consistent and comprehensive standards that would allow investors
to better understand and assess how well the companies they own are
managing their talent.
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