BCE INC. | Formal employee representation in strategic decisionmaking at BCE INC.

Status
3.56% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
1
Resolution details
Company ticker
BCE
Resolution ask
Adopt or amend a policy
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Decent work
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Telecom
Company HQ country
Canada
Resolved clause
It is proposed that the Board of Directors evaluate ways to increase employee participation in Board decision-making. It is suggested that the conclusions of this reflection should be reported on at the next annual meeting in 2023.
Supporting statement
The health and economic crisis reminded us of the importance of employee health and well-being within organizations. There is no need to mention certain advantages of this: a higher level of job satisfaction, a better sense of belonging, a higher engagement rate, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, reduced insurance costs, risk of work-related-accidents and occupational diseases. Over the next few years, boards of directors will be faced with a number of issues related to talent management and development. In recent years, boards of directors have made an effort to improve the quality of their decision-making by drawing on different experiences and skills and by drawing as much as possible on people of all sexes, ages, origins and religions. Although our boards of directors are mostly composed of independent directors, there is a lack of employee vision that could provide a different perspective on an organization’s operational and strategic issues, better oversight of senior management decisions and a better balance in short- and long-term decision-making, with employees trending to favour the long-term. The United Kingdom’s Corporate Governance Code invited, in its most recent edition (2018), to consider various initiatives to increase employee participation in the highly strategic decisions of organizations, including: the creation of a statutory labour advisory committee, the appointment of a board member to liaise with workers or the appointment as board member of at least one employee other than the CEO. Fully convinced of the great value that direct and formal employee contributions would have for strategic decision-making, particularly those involving important aspects of talent management and development, we are submitting this proposal, confident that the company will be able to propose, at the next annual meeting in 2023, ways to ensure employee ideas and participation.

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