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This article first appeared in Kivo Daily. One day last May, Mark Thompson, then the CEO and president of The New York Times, had just concluded his first quarterly earnings call. Three thousand people normally pack the famous skyscraper at 620 Eighth Avenue. Fewer than 20 were in that day. With an unexpected rush of energy, Thompson hopped on his beloved Brompton fold-up bike and pedalled off across the vast floors of his headquarters. Surveying the savannah of empty desks, he trundled past the potted plants, the small, framed photos of smiling loved ones and an abandoned cardigan
. The sight of the cycling CEO caused little stir.
BT’s Board Still Divided on Pace of Change After Chairman Quits
Bloomberg 3/11/2021 Thomas Seal
(Bloomberg) BT Group Plc’s board remains divided following the unexpected resignation of Chairman Jan du Plessis, with the two camps mainly at odds over the pace of changes needed at the company.
One group of directors, including Chief Executive Officer Philip Jansen, wants BT to accelerate decisions around its nationwide broadband network Openreach, as well as restructuring, while other board members want more certainty around external issues such as regulation, according to people familiar with the matter. BT is studying how to get the best return on investment, including the merits of sharing infrastructure with rivals and external sources of capital, one person said.
Outgoing BT Group chairman Jan du Plessis
BT Group’s board remains divided following the unexpected resignation of chairman Jan du Plessis, with the two camps mainly at odds over the pace of changes needed at the company.
One group of directors, including CEO Philip Jansen, wants BT to accelerate decisions around its nationwide broadband network Openreach, as well as restructuring, while other board members want more certainty around external issues such as regulation, according to people familiar with the matter. BT is studying how to get the best return on investment, including the merits of sharing infrastructure with rivals and external sources of capital, one person said.
Dive Brief:
Unilever has committed to ensuring that workers who directly supply its goods and services receive a living wage by 2030. While Unilever is still working out the exact pay rate that equates to a living wage in the 190 countries in which it operates, the company did say wages need to be sufficient to cover food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transport and clothing, and also include a provision for unexpected events. Unilever said it already pays its own employees a living wage, at minimum.
The company currently requires its suppliers to pay legal minimum wages. However, this new initiative will significantly boost the paychecks of the millions of employees working for the multinational company’s 65,000 direct suppliers, which includes several thousand agricultural businesses, per CNN Business. Unilever s chief human resources officer Leena Nair told the BBC that suppliers unwilling to participate in this initiative may lose their contracts with the firm.
Unilever promises all suppliers will pay a living wage by 2030 22nd January 2021 10:10 am
British multinational consumer goods organisation Unilever has pledged all of its suppliers will pay their employees a living wage by the end of the decade.
The commitment, unveiled as part of a wider renewal of its social responsibility standards, will see the business insist that all workers of companies in its supply chain must receive a living wage by 2030. The requirement extends to all those that directly provide or deliver goods and services to the organisation.
Leena Nair, chief HR officer at Unilever, said: “The commitments we’ve announced will mean we will raise living standards across our value chain.”