RE: BT5 Sep 2022 09:44
Fleccy: Your reasoning is completely flawed.
1) First and formost lets be absolutely plain about Shareholders in the likes of BT. thy (including you and I) do NOT inject funds INTO the company unless its via a share issue these days (or its a new start-up etc).
Since we are simply buying and selling these shares, we have given NO contirbution to the actual company; only to previous/future shareholders. As such, we DO NOT deserve or are guaranteed Dividends etc.
We (you, me and all other shareholders) are financially investing... that's it. We hope to make profit either via selling higher or Dividends or both.... end of.
2) ANY company only grows and makes profit as a result of the MAJORITY of the WORKFORCE.... that is an absolute given for the likes of BT. Marketing department, engineering, development, research, Customer Services etc. THe BOD makes up a miniscule portion of the company. Yes you can argue that Directors are somehow the 'heart' and powerhouse of a company but that's not actually true. They 'Direct' the workforce and make high-level decisions etc.
But the IMPLEMENTATION and clearly the success/failure of such high-level decisions fall within the remit of the other employees, including middle management.
So yes, I absolutely agree that all workers shold and are ENTITLED to SHARE in the profit of the company and to be rewarded for their contirbution.
You may not like this but..... if that means reducing Dividends then so be it. Better still, these are unprecedented times where cost of living etc is a major issue.
This is PRECISELY the time when both BOD and Shareholders have a duty to 'protect' the company by ensuring that their Workforce (the entire workforce... not just Directors) are supported. Whether that is by pay rises, share ownership, bonuses etc or combination.
I tmakes more sense (at least to me) for BT to provide that 'Essential' support than to bicker.
We as Shareholders also have a responsibility to ensure the BOD take appropriate action to ensure the success of the company, hence why I support reaching out to the BOD as an Investor and letting them know my believes.
However, if the BOD insist on makeing this into a stubborn, irresponsible fight rather than properly negotiating a fair package then I need to sell up at some point.
The BOD proclaim on their website about morales, ethics etc but are clearly failing to keep those standards (imho).
Now stepping off my Soap Box :-)