In an absolute shocker, UK's The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will suspend its operations until June due to a mass departure of major UK businesses, including NatWest and John Lewis, following allegations of sexual misconduct by male employees at the lobbying group. As per British media reports, UK's CBI's board has decided to suspend all membership and policy-related activities until an extraordinary meeting in June, where members will vote on the organisation's future and purpose. This decision comes after a mass exodus of major UK businesses, including John Lewis and NatWest, following The Guardian's publication of a series of accounts from more than a dozen women alleging sexual misconduct by male employees at the CBI. Among these allegations were claims of rape made by two women against their colleagues. However, the question arises what led to UK's CBI suspension or what is UK's CBI suspension reason to be exact? To know the answer continue reading-
UK's CBI suspension reason-
The Confederation of British Industry suspension comes after the recent disclosure on Friday, wherein a woman accused two male colleagues of raping her while working at an overseas office of the CBI, more than 50 of Britain's largest businesses have either suspended their involvement or entirely cut ties with the group. Notably, the list of high-profile companies that have terminated their relationship with the CBI includes Accenture, Arup, Aviva, BMW, Fidelity International, Jaguar Land Rover, Kingfisher, Phoenix Group, Sage, Tesco, and Virgin Media O2. Notably, the CBI has reported the specifics of the most recent rape accusation to the police. The City of London police initiated an investigation last week into a number of claims of wrongdoing leveled at CBI executives by more than a dozen women.
In a shocking revelation, The Guardian reported that there was a pattern of alleged misconduct by male CBI employees towards their female counterparts. One woman stated that she was sexually assaulted by a manager during a summer boat party on the River Thames in 2018. Additionally, the report detailed claims of sexual harassment and intimidation, with more than a dozen women coming forward to share their experiences. In another incident in 2018, a woman at the CBI's London office reported being stalked by a male colleague both in person and online. Despite the CBI acknowledging the incident as harassment, sources in the known development suggest that the woman was dissuaded from reporting to the police and that the alleged perpetrator retained his job.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier this month, the United Kingdom government suspended its relationship with the CBI over the previous allegations. The CBI, which claimed to represent 190,000 businesses prior to the exodus, was founded by royal charter in 1965. Its effective mothballing means an uncertain future for its workforce of more than 300 staff.
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