Monday, September 01, 2014

Bridgepoint, Care UK and is it "good business practice" to pay poverty wages?

Last week UNISON Strikers from Care UK in Doncaster tried to lobby the owners of their company, £8.7 Billion Private Equity firm Bridgepoint Capital.

Care UK won the contract to run former NHS care services in Doncaster. The strikers are trying to get a decent pay rise (following savage cuts in their pay and conditions -up to 35% of pay for some staff) and also a living wage for all new employees.

In the light of such questionable employment practices I  wondered what the Bridgepoint's stated policy is on ethical investment issues? I found here that apparently "We believe that it's good business practice to have strong environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles - and that building these principles into our business practises is good for our investors, employees, investee companies and their stakeholders in the long term.  Our approach is led by our core values, which we expect our teams to adhere to in the way they conduct themselves and represent Bridgepoint - and wherever relevant, in our environmental, social and governance policies".

also here I read that Bridgepoint "works with management teams to implement appropriate social policies in their operations and procedures. Typically, these focus on worker health and safety, labour rights and welfare". Oh, they are also "a signatory to the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment"

hmmmm - what twaddle. How can slashing wages and making its workers broke and homeless be "good business practice"? How in these circumstances do they "focus on worker health & safety, labour rights and welfare". What hypocrisy.

Of course companies that treat their workers like rubbish also treat their clients as rubbish as well.

Check out UNISON news here and Observer article here

Finally, I am willing to bet that a number of pension and insurance funds invest in Bridgepoint. Do you really want your retirement funded by exploitation and misery?

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