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FW: BURMA PULL-OUT URGED: ICEM
- Subject: FW: BURMA PULL-OUT URGED: ICEM
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 12:20:00
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>Subject: BURMA PULL-OUT URGED
>
>ICEM UPDATE
>
>No. 24/2001
>
>10 May 2001
>
>
>The following is from the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine
>and General Workers' Unions (ICEM):
>
>
>BURMA DISINVESTMENT CAMPAIGN:
>UNOCAL SHAREHOLDER LOBBY AS UNIONS STEP UP WORLD ACTION
>
>Pressure to end forced labour in Burma and restore democracy has been
>stepped up by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical,
>Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
>
>In the USA, the ICEM today urged shareholders of energy multinational Unocal
>to support two Burma-related resolutions on human rights and ethical
>conduct, to be voted on at the company's upcoming May 21 annual meeting.
>
>Meanwhile, ICEM Asia-Pacific has launched a poster, leaflet and Internet
>campaign to rally support for the Burmese workers. It says that unions in
>the region should ask companies to pull out of Burma, and should, if
>necessary, prepare to organise consumer boycotts of any firms that refuse to
>do so.
>
>"The ICEM has consistently pressed multinational companies in its industries
>to withdraw from Burma until full democracy and human rights, including
>trade union rights, are restored there," commented ICEM General Secretary
>Fred Higgs in Brussels today. "Through the US shareholder lobby, the
>Asia-Pacific action and other means, we are now intensifying that campaign."
>
>Investigations by the UN's International Labour Organisation had "shown
>beyond any shadow of a doubt that the use of forced labour in Burma is as
>systematic as it is brutal," Higgs said. "The ILO has advised companies,
>states and international organisations to review their relations with Burma,
>so as to ensure that they do not in any way support or condone forced
>labour.
>
>"We once again call upon all companies in our sectors to disinvest from
>Burma," he said. "This applies not least to those oil and gas corporations
>whose continued presence there is helping to prop up one of the world's most
>repressive regimes.
>
>"Any company that continues to do business with the Burmese junta will do
>itself great discredit," Higgs pointed out. "So will any company that
>continues to do business with the Burmese state oil company MOGE, which has
>helped to launder the money generated by the junta's worldwide trafficking
>of illegal narcotics."
>
>
>
>AMERICAN SHAREHOLDER LOBBY
>
>In the US, the first of the ICEM-backed resolutions for the Unocal annual
>meeting is sponsored by the LongView Collective Investment Fund of the
>Amalgamated Bank of New York, which is a shareholder. It urges the Unocal
>board of directors to adopt, implement and enforce a code of conduct based
>on the ILO's trade union rights conventions.
>
>The second resolution, sponsored by shareholders Maryknoll Fathers and
>Brothers, the Interfaith Center of Corporate Responsibility, As You Sow
>Foundation and Walden Asset Management, 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 ethical and social performance.
>
>In a letter sent today to Unocal's top 100 institutional investors, Kenneth
>Zinn, ICEM North American Regional Coordinator, said that "by adopting
>exemplary standards of corporate governance and best global practices in
>human rights in the workplace, the company will be taking significant
>measures to enhance shareholder value."
>
>Zinn pointed out that over the past two years, Unocal shares have fallen
>more than five percent compared with a 69 percent gain for its industry peer
>group, and that the company's uneven exploration record has raised concerns
>for its financial future.
>
>Unocal has received significant criticism over its investments in Burma. It
>is a participant in a 1.2 billion US dollar joint venture with the Burmese
>government in the Yadana gas pipeline, a project on which forced labour is
>alleged to have been used.
>
>A law suit 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."
>
>"If Unocal truly implemented a workplace code of conduct that fully complied
>with the ILO conventions, it would have to pull out of Burma," said the
>ICEM's Kenneth Zinn today. "The outlawed trade unions and the democratic
>movement in Burma have called for foreign companies to withdraw, and Unocal
>should follow the example of the many other companies that have pulled out
>of that country."
>
>The full text of the ICEM's letter to Unocal shareholders is online at:
>http://www.icemna.org/ecmpbrm7.htm
>
>
>
>ASIAN ACTION
>
>"There can be no human rights without trade union rights in Burma," the ICEM
>Asia-Pacific campaign insists.
>
>The campaign is online on the ICEM Asia-Pacific website at:
>http://www.icemap.org
>
>ICEM Asia-Pacific is also distributing posters and leaflets on rights abuses
>in Burma. Unions in each country should decide the most appropriate forms of
>action, it says. Four basic action points are recommended:
>
>- Seek wider support: "Ask the trade union movement in your country to
>participate fully in this campaign. Ask your government to publicly condemn
>the military regime of Burma and to pledge support to the trade union
>movement in the fight for change in Burma. Ask employer organisations and
>employers that your union works with to do the same."
>
>- Target companies that trade with Burma: "Check if any of the companies
>that your union has members at trades with Burma. If they do, ask that they
>stop doing so until real change is achieved in Burma. Be prepared to expose
>them publicly if they refuse and run a campaign to boycott their goods."
>
>- Protest: "Write letters of protest to the Burmese authorities in your
>country. Press the trade union movement to organise rallies and
>demonstrations outside their Embassy. Use the media in your campaign."
>
>- Education: "Make sure that union members are aware and involved in the
>campaign. Get their support for the restoration of union rights and the end
>of forced labour in Burma. Raise the issue at union meetings. Ask the
>membership to pass resolutions supporting the trade union campaign."
>
>
>
>GLOBAL UNION CAMPAIGN
>
>The ICEM action is part of a wider Burma campaign by the world trade union
>movement as a whole. At a special conference in Tokyo this March, union
>internationals agreed to step up the pressure.
>
>More details are available online from the International Confederation of
>Free Trade Unions at:
>
>http://www.icftu.org/focus.asp?Issue=Burma
>
>
>_______
>
>
>
>ICEM UPDATE is available in English, Russian and Spanish. Individual news
>items can be supplied in other languages on request.
>
>Our print magazines ICEM INFO and ICEM GLOBAL are published in English,
>French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
>
>Visit us on the Net at http://www.icem.org
>
>ICEM
>avenue Emile de Beco 109, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
>tel.+32.2.6262020 fax +32.2.6484316
>Internet: info@xxxxxxxx
>
>Editor: Ian Graham, Information Officer
>
>Publisher: Fred Higgs, General Secretary.
>
>
>[end]
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<font size=3><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Subject: BURMA PULL-OUT URGED<br>
<br>
ICEM UPDATE<br><br>
No. 24/2001<br><br>
10 May 2001<br><br>
<br>
The following is from the International Federation of Chemical, Energy,
Mine<br>
and General Workers' Unions (ICEM):<br><br>
<br>
BURMA DISINVESTMENT CAMPAIGN:<br>
UNOCAL SHAREHOLDER LOBBY AS UNIONS STEP UP WORLD ACTION<br><br>
Pressure to end forced labour in Burma and restore democracy has
been<br>
stepped up by the 20-million-strong International Federation of
Chemical,<br>
Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).<br><br>
In the USA, the ICEM today urged shareholders of energy multinational
Unocal<br>
to support two Burma-related resolutions on human rights and
ethical<br>
conduct, to be voted on at the company's upcoming May 21 annual
meeting.<br><br>
Meanwhile, ICEM Asia-Pacific has launched a poster, leaflet and
Internet<br>
campaign to rally support for the Burmese workers. It says that unions
in<br>
the region should ask companies to pull out of Burma, and should,
if<br>
necessary, prepare to organise consumer boycotts of any firms that refuse
to<br>
do so.<br><br>
"The ICEM has consistently pressed multinational companies in its
industries<br>
to withdraw from Burma until full democracy and human rights,
including<br>
trade union rights, are restored there," commented ICEM General
Secretary<br>
Fred Higgs in Brussels today. "Through the US shareholder lobby,
the<br>
Asia-Pacific action and other means, we are now intensifying that
campaign."<br><br>
Investigations by the UN's International Labour Organisation had
"shown<br>
beyond any shadow of a doubt that the use of forced labour in Burma is
as<br>
systematic as it is brutal," Higgs said. "The ILO has advised
companies,<br>
states and international organisations to review their relations with
Burma,<br>
so as to ensure that they do not in any way support or condone
forced<br>
labour.<br><br>
"We once again call upon all companies in our sectors to disinvest
from<br>
Burma," he said. "This applies not least to those oil and gas
corporations<br>
whose continued presence there is helping to prop up one of the world's
most<br>
repressive regimes.<br><br>
"Any company that continues to do business with the Burmese junta
will do<br>
itself great discredit," Higgs pointed out. "So will any
company that<br>
continues to do business with the Burmese state oil company MOGE, which
has<br>
helped to launder the money generated by the junta's worldwide
trafficking<br>
of illegal narcotics."<br><br>
<br><br>
AMERICAN SHAREHOLDER LOBBY<br><br>
In the US, the first of the ICEM-backed resolutions for the Unocal
annual<br>
meeting is sponsored by the LongView Collective Investment Fund of
the<br>
Amalgamated Bank of New York, which is a shareholder. It urges the
Unocal<br>
board of directors to adopt, implement and enforce a code of conduct
based<br>
on the ILO's trade union rights conventions.<br><br>
The second resolution, sponsored by shareholders Maryknoll Fathers
and<br>
Brothers, the Interfaith Center of Corporate Responsibility, As You
Sow<br>
Foundation and Walden Asset Management, urges the Unocal board of
directors<br>
to appoint a special committee of the board to review ways to link
executive<br>
compensation with the company's ethical and social performance.<br><br>
In a letter sent today to Unocal's top 100 institutional investors,
Kenneth<br>
Zinn, ICEM North American Regional Coordinator, said that "by
adopting<br>
exemplary standards of corporate governance and best global practices
in<br>
human rights in the workplace, the company will be taking
significant<br>
measures to enhance shareholder value."<br><br>
Zinn pointed out that over the past two years, Unocal shares have
fallen<br>
more than five percent compared with a 69 percent gain for its industry
peer<br>
group, and that the company's uneven exploration record has raised
concerns<br>
for its financial future.<br><br>
Unocal has received significant criticism over its investments in Burma.
It<br>
is a participant in a 1.2 billion US dollar joint venture with the
Burmese<br>
government in the Yadana gas pipeline, a project on which forced labour
is<br>
alleged to have been used.<br><br>
A law suit against Unocal by Burmese plaintiffs in a US district court
in<br>
California was dismissed last August but is currently under appeal.
Judge<br>
Ronald Lew stated in his opinion: "The evidence does suggest that
Unocal<br>
knew that forced labour was being utilised and the Joint Venturers<br>
(including Unocal) benefited from the practice."<br><br>
"If Unocal truly implemented a workplace code of conduct that fully
complied<br>
with the ILO conventions, it would have to pull out of Burma," said
the<br>
ICEM's Kenneth Zinn today. "The outlawed trade unions and the
democratic<br>
movement in Burma have called for foreign companies to withdraw, and
Unocal<br>
should follow the example of the many other companies that have pulled
out<br>
of that country."<br><br>
The full text of the ICEM's letter to Unocal shareholders is online
at:<br>
<a href="http://www.icemna.org/ecmpbrm7.htm"; eudora="autourl">http://www.icemna.org/ecmpbrm7.htm</a><br><br>
<br><br>
ASIAN ACTION<br><br>
"There can be no human rights without trade union rights in
Burma," the ICEM<br>
Asia-Pacific campaign insists.<br><br>
The campaign is online on the ICEM Asia-Pacific website at:<br>
<a href="http://www.icemap.org/"; eudora="autourl">http://www.icemap.org</a><br><br>
ICEM Asia-Pacific is also distributing posters and leaflets on rights
abuses<br>
in Burma. Unions in each country should decide the most appropriate forms
of<br>
action, it says. Four basic action points are recommended:<br><br>
- Seek wider support: "Ask the trade union movement in your country
to<br>
participate fully in this campaign. Ask your government to publicly
condemn<br>
the military regime of Burma and to pledge support to the trade
union<br>
movement in the fight for change in Burma. Ask employer organisations
and<br>
employers that your union works with to do the same."<br><br>
- Target companies that trade with Burma: "Check if any of the
companies<br>
that your union has members at trades with Burma. If they do, ask that
they<br>
stop doing so until real change is achieved in Burma. Be prepared to
expose<br>
them publicly if they refuse and run a campaign to boycott their
goods."<br>
<br>
- Protest: "Write letters of protest to the Burmese authorities in
your<br>
country. Press the trade union movement to organise rallies and<br>
demonstrations outside their Embassy. Use the media in your
campaign."<br><br>
- Education: "Make sure that union members are aware and involved in
the<br>
campaign. Get their support for the restoration of union rights and the
end<br>
of forced labour in Burma. Raise the issue at union meetings. Ask
the<br>
membership to pass resolutions supporting the trade union
campaign."<br><br>
<br><br>
GLOBAL UNION CAMPAIGN<br><br>
The ICEM action is part of a wider Burma campaign by the world trade
union<br>
movement as a whole. At a special conference in Tokyo this March,
union<br>
internationals agreed to step up the pressure.<br><br>
More details are available online from the International Confederation
of<br>
Free Trade Unions at:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.icftu.org/focus.asp?Issue=Burma"; eudora="autourl">http://www.icftu.org/focus.asp?Issue=Burma</a><br><br>
<br>
_______<br><br>
<br><br>
ICEM UPDATE is available in English, Russian and Spanish. Individual
news<br>
items can be supplied in other languages on request.<br><br>
Our print magazines ICEM INFO and ICEM GLOBAL are published in
English,<br>
French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.<br><br>
Visit us on the Net at
<a href="http://www.icem.org/"; eudora="autourl">http://www.icem.org</a><br><br>
ICEM<br>
avenue Emile de Beco 109, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.<br>
tel.+32.2.6262020 fax +32.2.6484316<br>
Internet: info@xxxxxxxx<br><br>
Editor: Ian Graham, Information Officer<br><br>
Publisher: Fred Higgs, General Secretary.<br><br>
<br>
[end]</font></blockquote></html>
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