Marilyn Croser of the Corporate Responsibility Coalition calls for worker representatives on boards. Plus letters from William Rae Mccrindle, Liz McGrath, Ben Twist and Steve HowellThe collapse of Carillion (Report, 22 January), following the BHS and Sports Direct scandals, indicates a systemic problem with UK corporate governance. The fate of large corporations is a public concern and only wholesale reform will ensure company boards prioritise long-term value creation over short-term profit. Under current company law, there is no positive obligation on directors to take steps to prevent serious impacts on employees, suppliers, customers, the community or the environment. Rather than tinkering, as proposed in its response to corporate governance green paper, consultation, the government should reform the Companies Act to create an obligation of this kind.An obvious way of strengthening corporate decision-making to take into account the interests of wider stakeholders is to put worker representatives on boards. The government must now reconsider its decision not to move ahead with this proposal. At present directors are rarely held to account. Only individual accountability will address this problem. Presiding over serious corporate failings should be a grounds for directors' disqualification.Marilyn CroserDirector, Corporate Responsibility CoalitionContinue reading...
