UNITED KINGDOM: The CBI has suspended several key activities until June after a number of businesses quit the business group due to allegations of rape and sexual assault.
Dozens of businesses have declared they are quitting the group or pausing their membership after fresh claims of wrongdoing at the organisation. In a report, a second woman made the same accusation against CBI employees. The CBI stated it “shares the shock and revulsion” over the alleged events.
The lobbying group’s board stated that it was interested in hearing from “colleagues, members, experts, and stakeholders” on the future role and goals of the CBI.
The board issued a statement saying that, as a result, “we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to suspend all policy and membership activity until an extraordinary general meeting in June.”
At that meeting, the board will present recommendations “for a refocused CBI,” it was stated. It was further stated that “this work and the cultural reform will be the entire and urgent focus of the organisation over the coming weeks.”
Despite the fact that membership operations have been put on hold until June, companies will still be entitled to resign if they so desire, according to the BBC.
Prior to the publication of the second incident, the City of London Police were looking into an alleged rape that occurred at a CBI summer party in 2019.
The City of London Police’s Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Waight stated that no arrests had been made and that the investigation was still ongoing. He urged anyone with information to contact him.
One of the several companies that left the CBI on Friday as a result of the new claims is the brewer Adnams.
The CBI brand was “beyond repair,” according to chief executive Andy Wood, and it would need to “reinvent itself root and branch.”
He cited the CBI’s assistance in the creation of the furlough system, which helped pay certain employees’ wages during the pandemic, as one of its greatest achievements.
However, Adnams is a member of two trade groups that represent its industry and can speak on its behalf.
“It may be that there’s a need for those trade associations and business groups to come together on an ad hoc basis if we were ever faced with something like the pandemic or something that affects the whole of industry, but I do think that people like the British Beer and Pub Association or UK Hospitality do a great job.” “So let’s see where that leads us.”
Lord Karan Bilimoria, vice president of the CBI, said that he was resolved to make things right in light of the accusations.
In an interview, he admitted that “mistakes have been made” and promised that the culture will be thoroughly reviewed, as well as one-on-one meetings with every employee. “So we reset completely and learn from all the mistakes,” he concluded.
John Lewis, a retailer, also left the lobbying group that says it represents 190,000 businesses. John Lewis stated it made the decision “due to the further very serious and ongoing allegations.”
Other companies that have left the market include BMW, Vodafone, Zurich, Virgin Media O2, insurers Aviva and Phoenix Group, banking giant Natwest, credit card firm Mastercard, B&Q owner Kingfisher, media company ITV, insurance marketplace Lloyds of London, investment firm Schroders, auditor EY, catering giant Compass, and consultants Accenture.
Along with Energy UK, which represents energy suppliers, the Association of British Insurers has also quit.
Companies that have suspended membership include the following: pharma giants GSK and AstraZeneca; airport operator Heathrow; retailers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Marks & Spencer; banking group Santander; National Grid, Octopus Energy, and Scottish Power; drinks giant Diageo; Rolls Royce; Unilever; BT; real estate firm British Land; accounting giant PwC; Manpower Group; British Beer and Pub Association; Shell; and BP.
The administration had already declared that it would stop working with the business group.
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association announced last week that it had revoked its membership “in light of recent reports.”
The CBI, which has over 300 employees, has been in turmoil after claims of a rape at one of its summer parties in 2019 and other sexual misbehaviour at the organisation surfaced earlier this month.
In the meantime, three staffers have been placed on administrative leave while Fox Williams conducts an investigation. The director-general of the organisation was fired because of several complaints.
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