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CWC Activities

CWC pursues specific worker capital related activities and campaigns involving all or some of its members.

Current Activities

  • Tenth Annual plenary CWC Committee meeting; Brussels, December 14-15, 2006
  • Financial Services with close ties to the trade union movement
CWC is pursuing a project involving financial services companies that are labour-owned or have close ties to the labour movement world-wide, including banks, insurance, venture capital, and holding companies. CWC has organized a series of high-level management meeting of these financial services companies. The first meeting in April 2005 offered participants a first networking opportunity. The second meeting, scheduled for November 2006, will focus on case studies in active shareholding and marketing to unions.

Recent Activities

  • International Meeting of Pension Fund Trustees
Every year, the Committee on Workers' Capital convenes an International Meeting of Union Pension Fund Trustees. The second such meeting  in Washington D.C. on July 5th, 2006. A full meeting report and meeting documents are available on the CWC Intranet.
  • Ninth CWC Meeting, October 14-15, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Financial Services with close ties to the trade union movement
The CWC is pursuing a project involving financial services companies that are labour-owned or have close ties to the labour movement world-wide, including banks, insurance, venture capital, and holding companies. CWC has organized a series of high-level management meeting of these financial services companies will be held in April 2005 under the aegis of the CWC, offering participants the opportunity to "meet and greet" and get to know each other's activities, with a longer term view of discussing business opportunities and other initiatives of benefit to the international labour movement.
  • Burma campaign
CWC members are part of an ongoing Global Unions campaign targeting companies that trade, invest in or encourage tourism with the repressive regime in Burma (also known as Myanmar ). ICFTU maintains and regularly updates a list of over 400 multinational companies with links to Burma . Over 700 companies have been contacted by the Global Unions, and several such as Unocal Oil, Halliburton, Ivanhoe Mines, Marriot International, and Citigroup have been the focus of specific shareholder campaigns. In some cases, direct discussions between the companies and the Global Unions have been held. In some cases, such as BAT, Accor or Premier Oil, these discussions played a significant role in their decision to withdraw from Burma .

Past Activities

  • James Hardie
In 2004, Australian trade unions focused investors’ attention on James Hardie. The international building products company gained notoriety for failing to make provisions for massive asbestos-related liabilities in Australia . As a result of the trade union campaign, which has involved international collaboration using networks built by the committee, the company decided not to present its annual accounts to shareholders at the company AGM in September 2004, fearing a low level of shareholder approval would prove embarassing to the company. In December 2004, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and James Hardie signed a memorandum of understanding which includes Australia's largest-ever compensation agreement.
  • 2003 World Economic Forum (WEF) Initiative

    A special session of the January 2003 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting was devoted to workers’ capital. This provided an opportunity for labour to promote its policies and priorities to major corporate leaders on a range of issues while indicating the large shareholdings that pension funds own in those corporations. CWC representatives from UNI argued that there is a need for the private sector, including the leading investment managers and banks, to value the role of public services in creating a social and economic framework in which they can operate and become advocates for quality public services.
  • Rio Tinto

    In 2000, labour investors in Australia , North America and Britain joined together to raise concerns about labour practices at global mining giant Rio Tinto. A shareholder resolution on the topic received more than 17 percent of votes cast (representing more than US$1.5 billion in Rio Tinto stock.) A large number of shareholders formally abstained from the vote because they lacked a policy to guide them in determining the appropriate course of action in such debates. In resolution discussions, the company acknowledged the important role of global labour standards in creating shareholder value. This shareholder coalition represented the broadest international proxy contest to date by any shareholder proponent. View the Coalition of Rio Tinto Shareholders website for more information.