A 17-strong investor coalition has called for the largest UK companies to provide better cost-of-living support to low-paid workers.
CCLA, the UK’s largest charity investment manager, has convened a significant investor coalition with £3.2 trillion AUM, to sign a joint investor statement urging companies to take steps to support their low-paid workers during this difficult time.
Recent findings by CCLA and the Church Investors Group indicate that the current support provided by UK companies to low-paid workers is “insufficient”.
“The scale of the cost-of-living crisis in the UK is unprecedented and with no end in sight. Millions of working people are facing a very hard winter and UK businesses should be vigilant in ensuring that their lowest paid are protected through the winter months,” said Peter Hugh Smith, CCLA’s chief executive. “The idea that there are employed people who do not earn enough to support themselves, to eat healthily and have a safe and warm environment in which to live, is morally wrong and financially unsustainable.”
The initial outreach by CCLA, together with the Church Investors Group, was completed in September. They asked 100 of the largest listed UK employers what steps they were taking to protect their lowest-paid workers during the cost of living crisis. It has to date produced 58 responses from the 100 companies which received letters. The majority of the answers received highlight that the efforts currently being made are insufficient.
On 23 November, CCLA Investment Management confirmed its recent outreach to the UK’s largest listed employers has now received the backing of 16 other investors including Aviva Investors, Brunel Pension Partnership, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Legal & General Investment Management and Trust for London.
The coalition has come together to sign a joint investor statement imitating CCLA and the Church Investors Group’s original letter. In the statement, the group urges companies to prioritise support for their lowest-paid employees and consider meeting the new real Living Wage rates. They additionally encourage UK companies to work in good faith with workers and unions so that agreements can be reached on pay and any disruptions avoided.
“At CCLA we believe that all companies should pay the real Living Wage as a minimum,” warned Hugh Smith. “We will be updating our voting guidelines next year and for those companies that fall short in protecting their lowest-paid workers from the crisis, we will not vote in support of increases in executive pay.”
In March 2023, CCLA says it will write again to the same list of 100 companies to monitor if progress on the issue has been made.
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