Committee on Workers' Capital

April 2020 CWC News Bulletin

Tamara Herman — 2020-04-22T21:15:15Z

The April 2020 CWC News Bulletin is online.

In this newsletter:

News from the CWC Secretariat

A note from the Secretariat regarding COVID-19
CWC/Trustee Leadership Forum (Boston, USA) postponed:
UN PRI's response to COVID-19
CWC Networked Secretariat member Therese Schets (FNV- Netherlands) retires
Upcoming proxy season bulletin

COVID-19 resources from the CWC Network

ITF - Workers capital critical to post-pandemic recovery: Statement from ITF president Paddy Crumlin and ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton on behalf of ITF affiliates worldwide.
ITUC - COVID 19 Pandemic Page: Contains information from ITUC affiliates, Global Union Federations and LabourStart about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
TUAC - Covid19 crisis: Mapping out trade union and social partners' responses: This online resource is a compilation of social partner and trade union in OECD countries' responses, agreements and calls for action (updated regularly).
Joint ITUC – Council of Global Unions statement: COVID-19: Urgent economic stimulus and workplace measures required
Global Unions Federation: Statement on the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank

News and reports from across the CWC Network

UNI (Global): Teleperformance workers in the Philippines are enduring “subhuman” conditions
EU: Consultation on the renewed sustainable finance strategy (extended to July 15, 2020)
CCOO (Spain): Labour risks at Amazon's operations in Spain - an update by Mario Sanchez Richter, Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CS CCOO) (English/Español)
AFL-CIO (US) 2020 Key Votes i
Change To Win (US): Change to Win and the Teamsters press Amazon board on worker safety
BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU - Canada): investor brief in support of a shareholder resolution at Loblaw (TSE:L)
Canadian Capital Stewardship Network (Canada) launches

Online events

The Canadian Capital Stewardship Network (Canada) webinar on Proxy Voting Power: How asset owners can activate their shares and make meaningful change this spring
The Trustee Leadership Forum for Retirement Security (USA) interactive virtual convenings
Change to Win Investment Group and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Investor Update: Providing Fast Food During A Pandemic

Read the full newsletter here

CWC October 2019 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2019-10-16T16:35:04Z

In our October newsletter: CWC Conference recap, Responsible Investor article on the CWC, report-back from the PRI in Person, CWC Asset Manager Accountability Initiative, XPO on notice, news from national participants and more.

The 2019 CWC Conference:

CWC Conference Recap: Putting asset owners in the driver's seat
Responsible Investor (RI.com) article on the CWC Conference:Unions are stepping up the naming and shaming of fund managers on workers' rights
Sharan Burrow: ESG - S and the E key
Report-back from the PRI in Person: Xander den Uyl

Other news:

CWC UBS Asset Manager Report Card
XPO Logistics on notice for breaching French Corporate Duty Vigilance Law
CWC Working Group on Amazon
Asset Manager Accountability

Country updates:

Australia: CWC at the Australia Super Trustees Forum
Germany: International Investors Disregard Worker Board-Level Representation
The Netherlands: New reports on pension fund ESG performance & labour rights in global value chains

Read the newsletter here

CWC April 2019 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2019-04-25T18:07:35Z

In this newsletter:

Welcoming CWC Chair Tuur Elzinga
Proxy preview: Key votes
CWC Conference registration
CWC Conference session topic survey
Webinar on fee transparency
Blog post: BHP and capital stewardship backlash in Australia
Sharon Hendricks wins PRI Board seat
Workers' Capital in Action: The Las Vegas Hard Rock Casino

Read the newsletter here

Update from Spain: February 2019

Tamara Herman — 2019-02-26T18:15:12Z

In February 2018, the CCOO Confederal Principles on Responsible Investment Initiative (PRI) signatory group was created. The new group is coordinated by the CCOO Confederal Secretariat of Public Policies and Social Protection, with the participation of the CCOO federation and territorial leadership in social security and responsible investment, as well as CCOO representatives in the governing bodies of PRI signatories.

The working group will hold two annual meetings (in February and October) with the aim of coordinating the campaigns of both the ITUC Global Union's Committee on Workers' Capital (CWC) and the PRI, as well as developing Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) strategies and policies.

The group of signatories is very heterogeneous and includes funds with very diverse assets - from small funds with 10 million EUR in assets to the largest funds in the country with several thousand million EUR in assets - which demonstrates that it is possible to implement SRI policies in funds of all sizes. The meeting was attended by Antonio Santoro, head of the PRI in Southern Europe, who presented the Data Portal Tool through which annual reports and PRI evaluation reports of asset managers can be requested. The PRI and CCOO encourage asset owners to request reports from asset managers through this portal.

The second part of the session was an internal working group meeting in which campaigns coordinated with the CWC were presented. These consisted of a series of public consultations with the European Union (EU), the European Authority of Securities and Markets (ESMA), the International Organization of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

It was also proposed that the CCOO conduct an assessment of the SRI approaches of the largest pension fund asset managers in the country. The analysis will be accompanied by engagements or dialogues with the asset managers in order to strengthen their SRI performance in areas identified by the research. This initiative will be coordinated with the asset manager research and engagement campaign that is being carried out by the CWC at the global level.

The key campaigns in which PRI signatory pension funds participated most relevant to trade unions were highlighted, such as the renewal of the Bangladesh Agreement, the defense of workers' rights in Amazon.com and the inclusion of just transition in the fight against climate change. In 2019, PRI signatory funds also participated in the public consultations held by ESMA and the European Union on the taxonomy of sustainable financial products included in the EU action plan on sustainable finance (already closed).

Finally, attendees were reminded that the annual CWC event will be held in September in Paris. This event is of special interest as it brings together union representatives in national and international confederations and federations, as well as union representatives in complementary social welfare organizations.

Foto: Pixabay | Donations_are_appreciated / 694 images

CWC February 2019 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2019-02-25T23:33:00Z

In this Newsletter:

Register for a CWC webinar on April 9th: Fee transparency: What trustees miss by focusing on net returns (and discounting gross returns) in pension portfolios?
Save the date: The 2019 CWC Conference will take place on September 8 - 9 in Paris, France
Engagement request: Investor brief on BHP
Shareholder activism working group: Campaigns, working group updates and other news
Taskforce on strategic investment chain initiatives: Read about our input into several key consultations
UN PRI: Report back from the board by Xander den Uyl
News from CWC participants: Updates from the Netherlands and Spain (haga clic aquí para la versión en español)

Read full newsletter here

CWC May 2018 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2018-05-02T23:41:09Z

In this edition of the CWC's newsletter:

News from the Secretariat

The CWC 2018 Conference
Shareholder Activism Working Group updates and key campaigns:
- Amazon.com
- Hosts Hotels and Resorts
- Mondelēz International, Inc.
- XPO Logistics
- Shareholder activism campaigns portal
- Workers' Capital in Action profiles

News and notes from CWC participants

IndustriALL: Glencore
ITF: ICTSI
LiUNA: Wells Fargo and Hudson Yard
Australia: ACTU capital strategies updates
Canada: Modern slavery and child labour legislation
United Kingdom: UK Stewardship Code, GKN bid and hedge funds
United States: Investor letter to Mondelēz and Amazon shareholder resolution

Important reads and notes

The AFL-CIO Key Votes Survey
Unions look for jobs to go with their infrastructure investments
The Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) Pilot Year Report
Hedge funds accused of non-compliance with FCA stewardship rules
The ICCR Investor Alliance for Human Rights
The Trustee Leadership Forum for Retirement Security (TLF)

Read the full newsletter here.

CWC February 2018 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2018-02-12T19:07:00Z

In this edition of the CWC's newsletter:

The CWC Conference
The CWC Campaigns Portal
New blog: Missing links in the investment chain
Campaigns updates
Trustee Profile: Roslyn McLennan
Glencore campaign (IndustriALL)
ACTU update (Australia)
Workers' capital victory in France (France/US)
VBDO study on how pension funds address the issue of living wage (The Netherlands)
SEC Pay Ratio Rule Implementation (US)

Read the full newsletter here

cwc_news_bulletin_february_2018.pdf

CWC November 2017 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2017-11-27T08:00:00Z

In this edition of the CWC's newsletter:

The CWC Conference
Portrait d'administrateur/Trustee Profile: Philippe Soubirous
Woolworths shareholder resolutions (Australia)
CWC in the news: Fees in the investment chain
News and notes from CWC participants: Updates on capital stewardship in Australia, France, and the US
Key consultations: European Commission Public consultation on institutional investors and asset managers' duties regarding sustainability
Important reads: SHARE's Trustee Guidance on Decent Work, Benchmark Responsible Investment by Funds in the Netherlands

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

Read the full newsletter here

cwc_november_2017_news_bulletin.pdf

CWC July 2017 Newsletter

Tamara Herman — 2017-07-12T02:08:00Z

In this edition of the CWC's newsletter:

The CWC Conference
Trustee Profile of Sharon Hendricks, vice-chair of the California State Teacher's Retirement System in English, en français, en español
Archer Capital
CWC at the Trustee Leadership Forum
News and notes from CWC participants: Updates on capital stewardship in Australia, France, the Netherlands, the United States
Important reads: Renewable energy investor briefing: Managing risks & responsibilities for impacts on local communities, Who's responsible? Pension funds and respect for workers' right, Clarification on OECD Guidelines Raises Expectations of Canadian Institutional Investors

Read the full newsletter here

cwc_july_news_bulletin.pdf

Keywords to be included in the first list on the homepage

Alex Gomes — 2017-07-10T13:47:47Z

- Keywords to be included in the first list on the homepage / Newsletters, Letters, Proxy Alerts, News , Briefs, Opinions, Profiles, Internal Documents