AFX Europe (Focus): Royal Dutch/Shell plans new staff bonus scheme: “Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz… ‘lead plaintiff’… considering including the auditors when it files an amended complaint against Shell next month.” (ShellNews.net)

Aug 29, 2004

Posted 30 August 04

LONDON (AFX) - The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies intends to launch a new, company-wide bonus scheme from January as an incentive for staff to work together to rebuild the company's credibility, The Sunday Times reported citing Jeroen van der Veer, chairman of the committee of managing directors.

He said he hoped it would encourage staff to think "enterprise first" rather than "self first", according to the article.

The plans are still subject to staff negotiation in some countries, but about 90,000 people are expected to be covered by the arrangements.

Van der Veer said he had asked management whether "the balance between enterprise first and self first had moved too much to self first". Ambition is good, he added, "but ambition with disregard for peers or subordinates creates the wrong culture," he is reported as saying.

At present, all Shell staff are eligible for an annual bonus, the size of which depends on company and individual performance.

A separate article in The Sunday Telegraph said the US law firm leading class action lawsuits against Shell is considering targeting the oil giant's external auditors, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, over their alleged role in the overbooking of reserves.

Citing Stanley Bernstein, the senior partner with Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz, which is heading the class actions as "lead plaintiff" on behalf of investors, the newspaper said the firm was considering including the auditors when it files an amended complaint against Shell next month.

ml/ak