Thursday, June 02, 2005

Wal-Mart Investors Want Investigation

On the heels of Wal-Mart's annual shareholder meeting, a group of Wal-Mart investors is demanding the creation of a task force to examine the company's breaches of child labor and immigrant law not to mention the pending gender discrimination lawsuit.
An influential group of investors has asked Wal-Mart to set up a task force to investigate its repeated regulatory breaches, including employing illegal immigrants and under-age teenagers to operate dangerous machinery.

The $85bn (£47bn) New York City Pension Fund and Illinois's State Board of Investment sent a letter to the world's largest retailer yesterday, calling on it to set up a committee to review its internal controls. The group, which includes the London-based F&C Asset Management, together own $546m of Wal-Mart shares.

In the letter, the investors say they are "deeply concerned" about the "potential contingent liabilities and negative effects on the company's stock price and reputation" from its frequent regulatory breaches.
Update: Even nuns are getting in on the protest