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11 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 17/2002
To help end corporate support for the Burmese military regime, shareholders in energy multinational Unocal are being urged to back two proposals calling for the adoption of best corporate practices in the company's operations worldwide.
Backing the campaign are the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and the AFL-CIO, which is the national trade union federation in the USA, where Unocal is headquartered.
Shareholders will vote on the resolutions at the company's annual meeting on 20 May.
While many global corporations have withdrawn from Burma, Unocal continues to participate in a 1.2 billion US dollar natural gas joint venture with a firm owned by the Burmese military dictatorship.
Widely condemned for its systematic use of forced labour and other human rights abuses, Burma is subject to US sanctions against new investment. Unocal's investment has exposed the company to potential significant liabilities resulting from two lawsuits filed in US courts by Burmese refugees. They allege Unocal's involvement in human rights violations.
The first shareholder resolution is sponsored by the LongView Collective Investment Fund of the Amalgamated Bank and ICEM American affiliate the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE). It urges the Unocal board of directors to adopt and implement an employee policy based on the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The second resolution urges the Unocal board of directors to appoint a special committee of the board to review ways to link executive compensation with the company's social performance. It is sponsored by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, As You Sow Foundation and Walden Asset Management.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), one of the world's largest pension funds with assets totalling 156 billion dollars, has already announced its support for both shareholder proposals.
The ICEM and the global labour movement have made it clear that we will not sit back and watch as multinational corporations continue to prop up the brutal military dictatorship in Burma," said Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary. "We will continue to stand with our brothers and sisters in Burma's outlawed trade union and pro-democracy movements and demand that Unocal follow the example of the many other companies that have disinvested their operations from Burma until full democracy and human rights are restored."
"Working people investing in Unocal want to make sure that Unocal isn't bolstering a regime in Burma which uses forced labour and commits other human rights abuses," commented Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer. "The long overdue recent release of Burma democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a positive sign, but the military junta has yet to show that it is genuinely changing. Until the pro-democracy and trade union movements are allowed full freedom without curbs or harassment, the international demand for economic pressure on the Burmese regime is likely to continue," said Trumka.
The activities of the two labour federations are part of a global initiative by trade unions to restore democracy and respect for human rights in Burma. In November 2000, the ILO took the extraordinary measure of urging its members to "review their relations with Burma" and "ensure that such relations do not perpetuate the system of forced or compulsory labour in that country." This has prompted an expanded effort among labour unions to urge foreign companies to withdraw from Burma. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the European Trade Union Confederation issued a call in April for the European Union and its member governments to implement effective economic measures to put pressure on Burma. Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged UK investors to support the Amalgamated Bank/PACE resolution.
Backing the campaign are the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and the AFL-CIO, which is the national trade union federation in the USA, where Unocal is headquartered.
Shareholders will vote on the resolutions at the company's annual meeting on 20 May.
While many global corporations have withdrawn from Burma, Unocal continues to participate in a 1.2 billion US dollar natural gas joint venture with a firm owned by the Burmese military dictatorship.
Widely condemned for its systematic use of forced labour and other human rights abuses, Burma is subject to US sanctions against new investment. Unocal's investment has exposed the company to potential significant liabilities resulting from two lawsuits filed in US courts by Burmese refugees. They allege Unocal's involvement in human rights violations.
The first shareholder resolution is sponsored by the LongView Collective Investment Fund of the Amalgamated Bank and ICEM American affiliate the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE). It urges the Unocal board of directors to adopt and implement an employee policy based on the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The second resolution urges the Unocal board of directors to appoint a special committee of the board to review ways to link executive compensation with the company's social performance. It is sponsored by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, As You Sow Foundation and Walden Asset Management.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), one of the world's largest pension funds with assets totalling 156 billion dollars, has already announced its support for both shareholder proposals.
The ICEM and the global labour movement have made it clear that we will not sit back and watch as multinational corporations continue to prop up the brutal military dictatorship in Burma," said Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary. "We will continue to stand with our brothers and sisters in Burma's outlawed trade union and pro-democracy movements and demand that Unocal follow the example of the many other companies that have disinvested their operations from Burma until full democracy and human rights are restored."
"Working people investing in Unocal want to make sure that Unocal isn't bolstering a regime in Burma which uses forced labour and commits other human rights abuses," commented Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer. "The long overdue recent release of Burma democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a positive sign, but the military junta has yet to show that it is genuinely changing. Until the pro-democracy and trade union movements are allowed full freedom without curbs or harassment, the international demand for economic pressure on the Burmese regime is likely to continue," said Trumka.
The activities of the two labour federations are part of a global initiative by trade unions to restore democracy and respect for human rights in Burma. In November 2000, the ILO took the extraordinary measure of urging its members to "review their relations with Burma" and "ensure that such relations do not perpetuate the system of forced or compulsory labour in that country." This has prompted an expanded effort among labour unions to urge foreign companies to withdraw from Burma. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the European Trade Union Confederation issued a call in April for the European Union and its member governments to implement effective economic measures to put pressure on Burma. Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged UK investors to support the Amalgamated Bank/PACE resolution.