Press Statement dated 24 July 2018
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is outraged at the R1.6billion windfall that Naspers CEO Bob van Dyk picked up for himself during the financial year and has called on shareholders to use the United Nation’s Principle of Responsible Investment (PRI) to probe the pay-out and vote against the media conglomerate’s remuneration policy for executive management in their coming Annual General Meeting.
FEDUSA believes that the exorbitant bonus is insensitive to the plight of workers who are battered by low wages, food and transport inflation on a daily basis in an austere economic environment that has been compounded by VAT increasing to 15% for the first time in 25 years. Business leaders should be doing everything in their power to help steer the economy out of the low growth trajectory that it is currently trapped in and boost the image of the country in the eyes of international investors.
There is still room for Naspers management to show ethical leadership and solidarity with their struggling employees, thousands of retrenched workers across different economic sectors and masses of unemployed job seekers by publicly foregoing their generous rewards.
At its core, the six PRI principles allow shareholders - in fulfilment of their fiduciary duties - to demand that company management integrate environmental, social and governance issues in their financial reporting. In embracing PRI principles, Naspers management would have contributed greatly to the sustainability of their iconic company.
Issued by Dennis George, General Secretary, Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa)