More than 1,000 staff pledge 'full support' for governance overhaul
Co-operative Group employees have appealed to regional board members urging them to back structural reforms recommended by Lord Myners, ahead of the group’s annual meeting in May.
Members of Unite, the union which represents around 1,200 workers in the Co-op’s retail arm, said they saw no viable “plan B” that could be put in place as an alternative to the suggested reforms, while recent “public politicking” was putting their livelihoods and the Co-op’s future at risk.
In a letter to the board, Adrian Jones, national officer at Unite, said members had been left with no alternative but to intervene and state their position.
“[The Co-op] is a trusted and loved brand, but our members’ trust and confidence in the current governance structure and its ability to make the necessary changes to ensure competitiveness and security has been severely dented by recent publicity,” he said.
“The future of the Co-op is not just about the make up of the board and the influence or perceived influence of regional boards and independent societies. It is also about the families of thousands of Co-op workers whose futures are on a knife edge,” Jones added.
Former City minister Lord Myners, who is leading the business review, resigned as an independent director of the Co-op Group last week amid growing opposition to his plans, which includes a complete overhaul of the group’s directorship.
Commenting on his resignation, he said he was “confident that there is a good future for The Co-operative Group if it commits to doing the right things on governance and leadership”.
In the union’s letter, sent ahead of the Co-op’s general meeting on 17th May, employees expressed “full support” for Lord Myners’ comprehensive review.
It called for the strengthening of the “one member one vote” principle that would hopefully return the Co-op to its “natural roots.”
“Unite as the largest union in Britain has many thousands of members in the retail and logistic arms of the Co-op’s competitors. On a daily basis we see the speed the sector is moving and with such pace, that unless the review is completed, there will be no chance of the Co-op being able to compete in such a cut-throat sector,” the letter stated.
“Unite believes that the basic proposals put forward by Lord Myners secure a structure that meets the organisation’s needs and has the potential to meet the challenges faced in the current economic climate.”
The seven regional boards control more than 70 per cent of the votes that will determine whether the proposals are accepted in the next annual meeting.
This puts regional board members in a “privileged position to take the Co-op into a new era,” Jones said.
“We write this letter out of necessity because our members see no alternative. They see no viable plan B coming forward that changes the governance structure that ensure we have a board in place with the knowledge, experience and skills to secure the future, not only of our members but of the Co-op as a whole,” the letter concluded.