Bosses' Pension

LORD BROWNE, retiring chief executive of Britain's biggest oil company BP, has faced complaints from shareholders over his remuneration package. Browne's annual salary was some Ł1.5 million a year, and his 'golden goodbye' was reportedly as high as Ł72 million.

Nearly 20% of shareholders voted to oppose him getting this much. Most of them have no objection to top bosses living lives of luxury provided they are doing the same! Some were carping that BP share prices had been underperforming the FTSE index of leading companies.

Other investors raised BP's shocking safety record such as a chemical fire in its Texas City oil refinery in 2005 - 15 workers died and over 170 were injured. The shareholders were worried that overtly cost-cutting, profit-chasing activities harmed BP's image and hit stock market prices.

Our solution to corporate contempt for safety, huge profits, giant golden goodbyes and extremes of wealth and poverty is to start by taking the whole oil industry into public ownership under democratic workers' control.

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Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.

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