STEP 1

In this first step, you will read carefully the presentation of this unit (phrasal verbs have been highlighted in yellow). A full glossary below will help you understand it better. To get information in Spanish, just place the arrow of your mouse on any highlighted word without clicking.

Today, there is a meeting of the Welfare Committee. On this Committee sit representatives of the various departments in the company. A maintenance fitter, Roy Biggs, speaks for the men employees; the women who work on the shop floor are represented by Miss Tappett; and Miss Prince speaks for the clerical staff. The Personnel Manager is the Chairman of the Committee. The Company Secretary, Mr. William Buckhurst, is also a member of the Committee, but, as we hear, he is unable to be present today.
The Welfare Committee looks after anything which concerns the well-being and the health or safety of employees. Today the Welfare Committee discusses a variety of subjects, the first being the reactions of the staff to the new canteen. The canteen has reorganised its serving counters (where the food is displayed) so that they serve a greater number of people more efficiently.
Then the Committee discusses a suggestion that wages should be paid by cheque and not in cash. The idea is to avoid drawing large sums of money every week from a bank, with the possible danger of robbery.
The next item, which is discussed at some length, is what to do with an area of land behind the factory which could be used for sports facilities, as a place to play games, such as football.
The meeting is then brought to an early close because the members of the Committee want to be present at the official opening of the new factory extension. In Hector Grant's speech, he mentions ways of raising money. When a company goes public it raises more capital by selling shares to anyone who wishes to buy them. The shares are usually of two kinds: preference shares and ordinary shares.
In most companies shareholders have the right to vote by proxy, that is, they appoint someone to vote for them by signing a form. The person who votes for them may be a director of the company or another shareholder. If a company fails or goes out of business it can be brought to an end by either voluntary or compulsory liquidation. With the first, the shareholders pass a resolution to conclude the business and the company goes into liquidation.

GLOSSARY:
Welfare Committee: concerned with making better conditions for everyone; here, it includes anything to do with the health, safety and leisure of the employees. A Welfare Committee will concern itself with working conditions, sport facilities, etc. (Comité de Bienestar Social);
maintenance fitter: someone who repairs and maintains factory machines and equipment (obrero armador de la sección mantenimiento);
clerical staff: also known in the United States as white-collar staff, it relates to clerks working in a company (personal administrativo);
to look after: to take care of (cuidar, vigilar);
canteen: a self-service type of restaurant on the factory or office premises where employees can get a midday meal and refreshments at a low price (cantina, comedor de planta);  
to bring to an early close: to end earlier or before than usual (finalizar -la reunión- antes de lo previsto); 
extension: new building added to an existing one (ampliación de planta);
to go public: to become a public company. To change from a private company, where the shares cannot be freely bought and sold, to a public company, where the shares can be purchased by anyone (convertirse en empresa pública, cotizar en bolsa); 
shares: in a public company, the shares can be bought and sold through the Stock Exchange by anyone who wants, or can afford, to buy them. A person who invests in such a company receives a share of the profits according to the number of shares he holds. Harper & Grant are a private company and they sell shares to selected individuals (acciones);
preference shares = preferred shares: shares which have a fixed rate of dividend (interest paid per year). If a company does well, holders do not receive an additional dividend over this rate. Holders of preference shares do not usually have voting rights, which means that they cannot vote at general meetings. However, dividends are paid first to owners of preference shares before any profits are distributed in the form of dividends to the holders of ordinary shares (acciones preferidas o preferentes);
ordinary shares = common shares: The holders of ordinary shares may, in a good year, receive a large dividend which is paid out of the profits once the preference shareholders have been paid. In a bad year the directors may recommend no payment of ordinary dividend, or a small payment out of retained profits (acciones ordinarias);
by proxy: a power of attorney document given by shareholders of a corporation authorizing a specific vote on their behalf at a corporate meeting (por poder, como apoderado);
to go out of business: to stop operating commercially (dejar de operar comercialmente).
to go into liquidation: termination of a business operation by using its assets to discharge its liabilities (liquidarse, suspender los negocios).