27 Oct SUPER FUNDS ENGAGE ON WORKPLACE CONDITIONS; BIG BUCKS PAID FOR MEDIA RELEASE
SUPER FUNDS ENGAGE ON WORKPLACE CONDITIONS
Workplace conditions at ASX-listed companies, in addition to action on climate change and diversity, are increasingly coming under focus from superannuation funds, according to the Australian Financial Review Super Fund CEO Survey.
‘‘It’s really around culture, conduct and good governance, and certainly you’ve seen that play out in corporate Australia in a few different ways over this past year,’’ Aware Super CEO Deanne Stewart told the AFR.
Australian Retirement Trust CEO Bern Reilly told the survey that “labour practices and broader governance issues” contributed to a company’s long-term value.
BIG BUCKS PAID FOR MEDIA RELEASE
Media releases are rarely seen as highly collectible items, with many ending up in the junk folder of a journalists email boxes.
But some avid collector paid what appears to be a world record price for one last week. The New York Times has reported that a copy of a 1493 pamphlet announcing Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the Americas fetched US$3.9 million ($6.2 million) at auction.
“Printed in Rome about 40 years after the commercialization of the printing press, the document’s Latin translation — including an introductory paragraph that touts Columbus as a man ‘to whom our age owes a great debt’ — helped spread the news of the voyage across Europe,” the Times reported.
NOT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
The Actuaries Institute – a Cannings’ client – has released a new paper, Not a Level Playing Field – People with Disability, which examines the extent of inequality for people with disabilities in Australia.
Taylor Fry actuary and report co-author Laura Dixie, spoke to The Australian’s Stephen Lunn about the importance of inclusion and ending segregation of people with disabilities from work, education, accommodation and other settings.
“The change needed goes beyond government policy. It needs a mindset change from all of us, individually and in business,” said Dixie. Read the full report here.
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