In the news - CORE

17 September 2018 - A golden opportunity to end corporate impunity

CORE, Corruption Watch and Transparency International UK's letter published in the FT argues that it is virtually impossible in the UK under its present laws to prosecute large companies for economic crime and human rights abuses. We stress that the UK's laws on corporate liability urgently need reform, in order to bring an end to corporate impunity,

12 June 2018: Pay Ratios on Their Own Are Not Enough, The Guardian

CORE, the TUC, ShareAction, the High Pay Centre, the Equality Trust and CAFOD have written to the Guardian, penning that while the publication of pay ratios will make it easier to hold directors to account for excessive pay inequalities, fundamental reforms to the UK corporate governance are needed. Transparency will not lead to more equal wages across firms unless accompanied by genuine structural reforms.

18 May 2018: A wider net to catch mismanagement, The Financial Times

The findings from the parliamentary report into the Carillion collapse (“ Carillion board and auditors savaged in scathing report ”, May 16) are clear: without significant reforms to the UK’s corporate governance framework, a similar scandal is simply a matter of time. The familiar behaviour the report describes went unchallenged under an outdated and ineffective governance framework, pointing to the lack of collective and individual accountability for management failures.

30 April 2018: Nigerian fishermen fight for permission to appeal oil pollution ruling, The Times

Campaigners are calling on the Supreme Court to hear a landmark claim brought by Nigerian fishermen against one of the world’s biggest oil companies. A total of 46 human rights organisations from around the world have urged UK judges to allow 40,000 people from Nigerian fishing communities to appeal against a ruling that Royal Dutch Shell cannot be held responsible for pipeline spills that have devastated the environment in the Niger Delta.

22 January 2018: Carillion Collapse Shows Need for Company Reform, The Guardian

In the wake of the Carillion collapse, CORE wrote to the Guardian calling for wholesale corporate governance reforms. In the letter, CORE’s director Marilyn Croser, writes that the current proposals for corporate governance reform do not go far enough. The prime minister must reinstate her commitment to put workers on company boards, and company law must be amended to put put a positive obligation on directors to prevent company operations seriously impacting other stakeholders.

12 October 2017: Companies must do more to end modern slavery, The Times

A recent campaign against modern slavery in London has attracted huge public support, including from Priti Patel, the secretary of state for international development, who has pledged to commit millions of pounds to tackle the problems exposed by the Evening Standard investigation.

7 March 2016: Firms show patchy compliance with UK Anti-Slavery requirements

Britain may need to enforce better reporting of what companies are doing to erase slavery from their supply chains, after corporate statements show dozens of firms have not fully complied with landmark legislations, two pressure groups said.

Under Britain's Modern Slavery Act, companies operating in the UK with a turnover of 36 million pounds ( million) or more, must - for the first time - disclose what they have done to ensure slave labour is not in their supply chains.

7 March 2016: Lacklustre compliance on anti-slavery law

When the UK’s Modern Slavery Act came into force last year, politicians hailed the new law as precedent-setting. It was the first national bill in the world that would require companies with turnover of more than £36m that operate in Britain to publish the steps they were taking to eradicate the crime from their supply chain.

But since it has been implemented, the initial company statements have been lacklustre.

19 Dec 2014: Stocking Up for Christmas: Tackling Slavery in Our Supply Chains, by Lord Alton

As usual, the approach to Christmas is marked by many challenging and contradictory messages vying for our attention. There's the oldest message that seeks to remind us of the origins of Christmas, emphasising peace and goodwill.

Then there's the message from retailers who every year move the starting blocks further forward to gain an advantage over their competitors. Another insists that Christmas should emphasise sharing, through the giving and receiving of presents. The reality of "Christmas present" is that many of our gifts will have been produced by people in other countries.

6 Dec 2014: Modern Slavery Bill
Coalition letter to the editor, The Telegraph

Slavery in Europe
SIR – Modern-day slavery and human trafficking are urgent challenges facing Britain, with several thousand people trapped in slavery now. According to the International Labour Organisation, modern slavery is an illicit trade worth at least £96 billion per year that exploits 21 million people globally.

We are pleased that the Government has promised action and that the Modern Slavery Bill, currently before Parliament, includes a new requirement for businesses to report on slavery and forced labour in their supply chains. But this provision must be strengthened if it is to drive real change in company supply chains. That is why we are supporting a cross-party amendment to the Bill, which would make the law clearer on what information companies need to publish.

6 Dec 2014: Modern Slavery
Lords Letter to the Editor, The Times

Peers supporting CORE's amendments to the Modern Slavery bill wrote to the editor of The Times calling for transparency in supply chain measures to be strengthened.

9 Sep 2014: Human rights violations have increased 70% since 2008 globally, The Guardian

The UK government must hold companies to account for abuses such as slavery, land grabs and trade in conflict minerals, says report.

Since 2008, there has been an unprecedented rise in human rights violations globally, up 70% according to a new report. Workers’ rights are seriously compromised and rural and indigenous communities are facing land grabs and forced displacement amid growing demand for low-cost labour and resources, according to the 2014 Human Rights Risk Atlas published by risks analytics firm Maplecroft.

7 Apr 2014: Documents reveal extent of Shell and Rio Tinto lobbying in human rights case, The Guardian

The extent of lobbying conducted by Shell and Rio Tinto in seeking legal support from the UK government to dismiss allegations of human rights abuses has been revealed in internal memorandums released by the Foreign Office.

The documents, obtained by the Corporate Responsibility Coalition (Core) and Amnesty International, show the closeness of the relationship between the multinational corporations and UK government departments.

22 Jan 2014, Cambodia shootings put firms on the spot, Letter to the Editor, The Guardian

The shooting of Cambodian garment factory workers on strike over low wages (Retailers tackle Cambodian PM over shootings, 21 January) is yet another example of the impact that making our clothes can have on people far away. It's right that clothing brands call for an investigation. But there are many problems linked to the making of our everyday products, from unfair pay and dangerous working conditions to environmental destruction. To help prevent these, a range of solutions is needed.