Treating people fairly, a belated Labour Day tribute

When I think "Cadbury", I used to think chocolate, especially Easter treats. But now I think pioneering "responsible employer". The Cadbury brothers, George and Richard, created the town Bournville in the late 1800s to improve living conditions for their employees. Later George, who survived his older brother Richard by many years, donated Bournville to a trust to continue to provide quality, affordable housing for his employees and others. Their actions were a stark contrast to many employers in the Victorian age. According to Wikipedia, "The Cadburys were particularly concerned with the health and fitness of their British workforce, incorporating park and recreation areas into the Bournville village plans and encouraging swimming, walking and indeed all forms of outdoor sports."

It's a great lesson inspired by the brothers faith in God, recognizing passages such as 'Treat your employees justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven'. Whatever your belief, I trust that we can share the sentiment, that every person is important. So its heartbreaking to consider how people were treated as second rate whether based on ethnicity or beliefs even in our modern history and still even today, too many are subject to various forms of worker oppression. I also find it distressing to hear of corporate leaders taking significant bonuses, well into the millions of dollars, in years that large numbers of employees were laid off, or many employees were paid only marginal wages.

At SierraSil, we are a "living wage employer". Additionally, after 3 months, employees are invited to join a benefits program that includes services such as dental, massage, and counselling. Vacation time starts at 3 weeks, not the statutory 2 weeks, and grows to 4 weeks in their 5th year. As for sick days, take what you need. The expectation though is that you will be reliable, look after yourself and not need absences routinely. Alas, we don't have a pension plan, one of the challenges of simply being a small company. Most employees are able to work remotely at least part time, and our office is close to major public transit links, and yes, bike lanes which I use! More than 50% of leadership compensation is earned by women and even though we are a small team, we have staff from 5 countries and 3 continents who share a passion to help people be healthier and more active naturally. As I write this, our VP Administration and CFO, Faith Wells, is in Australia to run her 7th international marathon!

Which leads back to another great lesson in the Cadbury brother's vision, the importance of a balanced life and recreating actively!

Now, I have no idea about the Cadbury's sourcing policies or what their personal lives were like. Nor do I make any suggestion that today, Cadbury is better or worse than any other chocolatier in their practices, sourcing, or quality of their treats. But, the vision of the Cadbury brothers to good for their employees, is worthy of remembering when we think of the brand they started in their dad's footsteps over a century ago and also for us to mindful of those doing the non-glamorous work which makes our lives nicer and more pleasant.