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Issue No. 126 | 01 March 2002 |
I Don�t Like Sprouts
Interview: Clean Hands Corporate: Out of Asia Unions: Tears, Real And Crocodile, At The Ansett Wake Economics: Labour�s Capital: Individual Or Collective? History: Mardi Gras: The Biggest Labour Festival? International: Driving A Hard Bargain Review: In Bed With a Sub-Machine Gun Satire: Whitlam Forgives Kerr: "At Least He Didn't Dismiss A Rape Victim" Poetry: Dear Mother
Some Light Reflects Off Ansett Net Porn Highlights Privacy Lag Mad Monk To Float Down Oxford Street Govt Breaches Its Own Guidelines Sartor Policies Irk Council Workers Service Fee Push Hots Up in Qld Casino Workers Show Their Hands Hotel Bosses Have Full House But Cry Poor Airport Screeners Win Training Rights CFMEU Korean Activist Honoured Support For Fijian Union Battle
The Soapbox The Locker Room Week in Review
Well Done, Splitter Repeating History
Labor Council of NSW |
Corporate Out of AsiaBy Andrew Casey
The California Public Employees Retirement Scheme (CALPERS) - worth $A 300 billion - has announced they will no more invest in countries where they are concerned about child labour, forced labour, union rights and discrimination. CALPERS' actions are predicted to be a trailblazer with commentators suggesting other, smaller, employee pension funds in America, especially public employee funds, will now follow and adopt similar social issues and human rights criteria for their investment policies. Using the financial muscle of growing pension employment funds to promote labour rights has been an issue, which has slowly crept up the political agenda of trade unions in the USA - and Australia. At the last ACTU Congress discussion was opened up about how employee reps on industry superannuation funds should start asking hard questions about investments in companies and countries with dubious labour rights records. However employee reps on Australian superannuation funds are hedged in by legislation, which seems to severely restrict their ability to direct funds to invest purely on ethical, social criteria. If the CALPERS decision spreads throughout America to Europe and to Australia it could send financial shock waves through many countries with poor labour standards. As soon as the CALPERS announcement was made about the first four Asian countries where they will begin to disinvest - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand - the local stock exchanges recorded immediate ructions. The PM of Malaysia attempted to brush aside the CALPERS decision but both his political opponents and local civil rights activists warned him not to ignore this new trend - and praised CALPERS support for their struggles. Last year the California employee pension fund approved a $A 2 million contract with two outside consulting firms - Oxford Analytica and Verite - to set up their progressive socially aware investment criteria which included factors such as civil liberties, freedom of the press, ethnic tensions, governmental corruption and respect for human rights. Dan Viderman from the New Hampshire-based consultancy Verite told the BBC's World Business Report that the criteria used was similar to those used by so-called ethical investment funds. " We looked at the laws, the institutional capacity to implement the laws and then we looked at what was really happening on the ground - child labour, forced labour, freedom of association and discrimination," Mr Viderman said. Other countries where CALPERS will now not invest any more, based on this new criteria, include China, Pakistan,Colombia, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Egypt and Russia. The California State Treasurer, Phil Angelides, who is on the board of CALPERS, and voted for the new policy, told the San Fransisco Chronicle, that the strategy could also signal unstable and repressive regimes that they needed to clean up their act if they wanted to attract investors. " This is the first time in this country that a major institutional investor said it wants to improve its results in foreign investment by investing in countries that are making progress toward becoming stable democracies," Phil Angelides told the SF Chronicle. While CALPERS has drawn up a list of countries they will not invest in their ethical consultants also drew up a list of ' acceptable' countries - these include Argentina, Hungary, Chile, Poland, Israel, Czech Republic, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey.
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