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9 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 27/2001
Worker shareholders at energy multinational Unocal’s annual meeting in the US yesterday challenged the company’s support for the Burmese military dictatorship.
Representatives of the US national trade union federation AFL-CIO and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) supported two shareholder resolutions addressing Unocal’s involvement in human rights abuses in Burma.
One of the largest pension funds in the world, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), announced that it was voting for the two resolutions. CalPERS has assets totalling more than US$ 151 billion.
Proponents of the resolutions contend that the company’s involvement in Burma creates substantial risk. Unocal is the only US-based company with significant direct investments in the Burmese oil and gas industry, one of the country’s most strategic sectors.
"Working people who invest in Unocal want to make sure that the company isn’t propping up the military regime in Burma, which condones forced labour and other human rights abuses," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. "It’s about time that the company starts focusing on creating long-term sustainable value, which includes becoming a good corporate citizen and minimising its risk exposure to serious human rights violations."
The first resolution, sponsored by the LongView Collective Investment Fund of the Amalgamated Bank of New York, urged the Unocal board of directors to adopt, implement and enforce a code of conduct based on workplace human rights standards set by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The second resolution, sponsored by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the Interfaith Center of Corporate Responsibility, As You Sow Foundation, and Walden Asset Management, urged the Unocal board of directors to appoint a special committee of the board to review ways to link executive compensation with the company’s ethical and social performance.
DISINVESTMENT CALLS GROW
In November 2000, the ILO approved a resolution urging its member governments, employers and unions to "review their relations with Burma" and "ensure that such relations do not perpetuate the system of forced or compulsory labour in that country."
A recent proclamation issued by the ICEM's energy union affiliates from the Asia/Pacific region, meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, called on oil and gas companies to "cease investment in Burma while the use of forced labour continues." The unions represented were from Australia, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The ICEM is a global trade union federation uniting more than 20 million workers.
Yesterday's shareholder resolutions were voted down at the Unocal meeting, but they contributed to the growing disquiet among Unocal shareholders about the company's involvement in Burma.
Unocal may face significant liabilities because of its investments there. The company is a participant in a US$ 1.2 billion joint venture with the Burmese government in the Yadana gas pipeline, a project on which forced labour was used.
A lawsuit against Unocal by Burmese plaintiffs in a US district court in California was dismissed last August but is currently under appeal. Judge Ronald Lew stated in his opinion: "The evidence does suggest that Unocal knew that forced labour was being utilised and the Joint Venturers (including Unocal) benefited from the practice." In addition, a federal court has now ruled that a similar case can proceed in a state court, addressing Unocal’s involvement in human rights violations.
Since the beginning of this year, Unocal has had a new CEO, Charles R. Williamson, and a new chairman of the board, John W. Creighton, raising expectations that the company will reassess its Burmese operations.
Representatives of the US national trade union federation AFL-CIO and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) supported two shareholder resolutions addressing Unocal’s involvement in human rights abuses in Burma.
One of the largest pension funds in the world, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), announced that it was voting for the two resolutions. CalPERS has assets totalling more than US$ 151 billion.
Proponents of the resolutions contend that the company’s involvement in Burma creates substantial risk. Unocal is the only US-based company with significant direct investments in the Burmese oil and gas industry, one of the country’s most strategic sectors.
"Working people who invest in Unocal want to make sure that the company isn’t propping up the military regime in Burma, which condones forced labour and other human rights abuses," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. "It’s about time that the company starts focusing on creating long-term sustainable value, which includes becoming a good corporate citizen and minimising its risk exposure to serious human rights violations."
The first resolution, sponsored by the LongView Collective Investment Fund of the Amalgamated Bank of New York, urged the Unocal board of directors to adopt, implement and enforce a code of conduct based on workplace human rights standards set by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The second resolution, sponsored by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the Interfaith Center of Corporate Responsibility, As You Sow Foundation, and Walden Asset Management, urged the Unocal board of directors to appoint a special committee of the board to review ways to link executive compensation with the company’s ethical and social performance.
DISINVESTMENT CALLS GROW
In November 2000, the ILO approved a resolution urging its member governments, employers and unions to "review their relations with Burma" and "ensure that such relations do not perpetuate the system of forced or compulsory labour in that country."
A recent proclamation issued by the ICEM's energy union affiliates from the Asia/Pacific region, meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, called on oil and gas companies to "cease investment in Burma while the use of forced labour continues." The unions represented were from Australia, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The ICEM is a global trade union federation uniting more than 20 million workers.
Yesterday's shareholder resolutions were voted down at the Unocal meeting, but they contributed to the growing disquiet among Unocal shareholders about the company's involvement in Burma.
Unocal may face significant liabilities because of its investments there. The company is a participant in a US$ 1.2 billion joint venture with the Burmese government in the Yadana gas pipeline, a project on which forced labour was used.
A lawsuit against Unocal by Burmese plaintiffs in a US district court in California was dismissed last August but is currently under appeal. Judge Ronald Lew stated in his opinion: "The evidence does suggest that Unocal knew that forced labour was being utilised and the Joint Venturers (including Unocal) benefited from the practice." In addition, a federal court has now ruled that a similar case can proceed in a state court, addressing Unocal’s involvement in human rights violations.
Since the beginning of this year, Unocal has had a new CEO, Charles R. Williamson, and a new chairman of the board, John W. Creighton, raising expectations that the company will reassess its Burmese operations.