Scribe takes BP dues fight to firm’s AGM

There are 236 former employees of BP in Zambia who still haven't been paid their pension by BP after almost 20 years. The former BP chief executive officer, Lord John %rowne, who was the CEO of BP at the time that the pension dispute started, wrote in an email in 2001 that he believed the pensioners should be paid in full.

However, to-date, this instruction has not been honored, prompting Mr. James to start a campaign last year to press the company honour its obligation in which over 1500 people across the globe signed the petition to compel BP to pay its forrmer workers in Zambia.

After realising that the company was slated to hold one of its biggest AGMs on Monday, Mr. James further asked petitioners to send emails directly to the company so that then plight of former employees in Zambia could be paid their dues.

“We have just found out that BP have their biggest annual meeting coming up on Monday in Manchester in the UK. This is a good opportunity to get the important people thinking about the petition while they are all in the same place.

“Please take a couple of moments to write to one of the people at the BP email addresses below to make sure that they are aware of their company's treatment of their former employees in Zambia who have still not been paid their pensions - after 20 years.

“Let us make sure that they are aware of the situation and have the chance to discuss it this Monday in Manchester, UK at their annual general meeting. We have over 1600 people who have signed this petition and will receive this email, if 1 in 10 of us writes a short message, we can at least be sure they are thinking about it,” Mr James advised petitioners.

He said after cases against BP in the high court, supreme court and assessment court - all of which the pensioners have won, it has become a matter of principle that their pension rights should be respected and paid in full.

He said no one wanted to spend 20 years of their life arguing over interest fees and details of payments that should have been made years ago.

He said the money the 236 are claiming is in most individual cases not a huge amount but that it was money that they were relying on as it would have gone towards their families, the education of their children, their healthcare.