-Get out of Burma! The Norwegian Petroleum Fund’s investments in companies that are doing business in Burma must be withdrawn immediately, says deputy leader of the orwegian union of trade unuons, Finn Erik Thoresen. The messages is conveyed directly to the Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. (11-MAY-05)
This article is based on Magnhild Folkvord’s article in the 9 May edition of the Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen.
The Norwegian union of trade unions, still a powerful player in Norwegian politics, has issued a demand to the Norwegian government not only to develop its ethical investment guidelines further, but also to apply them to its own politics. The immediate reason for the appeal is that an assessment of the fund’s investments in 2004 has uncovered that the fund has put money into no less than 85 companies that are doing different kinds of business in Burma. All of these 85 figure on a blacklist developed by the international coalition of trade unions. Two of the 85 companies that have benefitted from Norwegian investments, the French oil giant Total and the British pharmaceutical industry GlaxoSmithKline, range within the Norwegian Petroleum fund’s top-ten investments. The Union of trade union’s deputy leader Finn-Erik Thoresen comments that this is completely unacceptable.
-The Petroleum Fund should set a standard
-Our hope was that there would be no Norwegian investments whatsoever in the blacklisted companies, says Thoresen. -Instead, we have found no less than 85 such investments. His opinion is that the government should make sure all 85 investments are withdrawn, and all with immediate effect. Given the seriousness of the human rights violations that are taking place in Burma, I can’t think of a single reason strong enough to justify any delays. Our goal is that the Petroleum Fund’s ethical investment guidelines shall be developed and implemented to such an extent that it will set a standard for others to follow, both nationally and internationally. So far, thishas not been the case.
-Forced labour widespread
Thoresen also refers to the fact that the the international commnity of trade unions has for several years appealed for a total boycott of Burma, with general reference to the democratic defecit of its regime, but also more specifically with reference to the widespread use of forced and grossly underpaid labour in the country. Ever since the early sixties has the International Labour Organisation, a unit within the UN system, encouraged Burmese authorities to stop using forced labour. Despite numerous such request, Burmese authorities are still using women and men, children and elderly people in road railroad and bridge constrctions, military camps, and other kinds of work, all against these people’s wills. Those who refuse risk being arrested, tortured, raped or killed.
