5,000 signatures reached
To: Rt Hon Anna Soubry MP and HM Government
Pensions, payouts and protections - put BHS workers ahead of creditors and asset strippers!
Put loyal BHS workers and tax-paying citizens ahead of creditors and asset strippers by...
1. Holding BHS owners (and ex owners) Phillip Green, Arcadia Group, Dominic Chappell and Retail Acquisitions liable and responsible for fully guaranteeing BHS workers pensions, making every possible effort to find a buyer and save jobs, and providing full and meaningful support (financial and otherwise) to any and all BHS workers affected by redundancy.
2. Investigating and using the law to its fullest possible extent to address tax avoidance and asset stripping by Phillip Green, Arcadia Group, Dominic Chappell and Retail Acquisitions in order to achieve the above and minimise the cost to the tax payer.
Why is this important?
I used to work at BHS. Between 2009 - 2012 I sold furniture in Store 255, Reading Gate. The people I worked with made it one of the best jobs I've ever had.
When the store was closed in 2012, the owner (at that time Phillip Green) tried to get away with providing the least possible support for those of us laid off. But we stuck together, campaigned and won a better deal.
Today, BHS is on the verge of collapse. 11,000 jobs - people just like me and my old friends - are at risk. On top of that, the company has a £571 million pension deficit. Some employees have saved all their life. Now their pensions are at risk.
And why? Greens Greed - and others like him. Cold, callous and heartless greed.
The story of BHS's bankruptcy is one of theft and asset-stripping on a massive scale. Green took £580m+ out then sold the company for £1. The next owner, twice bankrupt Dominic Chappell, has taken millions more. Green underfunded the pension scheme - while paying his wife £400 million in BHS dividends, all channeled through a tax haven. Now the ship is sinking, while Green takes delivery of his new £100 million superyacht.
I don't work at BHS anymore. Today, I run ACORN, a national organisation made of 15000 low-middle income renters, service workers, claimants and others, fighting against inequality and for a fairer deal. I want to use this petiton to help BHS workers organise together and win the best outcome possible (if you're a worker, let us know!)
BHS collapse could drive 11,000 more people into poverty, welfare and zero-hours contracts risking homes and health. Green, Chappell and the rest must be held liable and made to pay for their crime.
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How it will be delivered
Calling BHS workers, friends, families and allies - lets make this campaign huge and deliver it together to make sure our voices are heard!
