Chevron to stand trial over Nigerian killings..
Chevron, one of the world's largest oil companies, has admitted that it paid and transported Nigerian military and police who shot and killed unarmed protesters during the peaceful occupation of an offshore oil rig. The company may now stand trial in the United States for alleged human rights abuses.
On May 25th 1998 more than one hundred unarmed Ijaw activists occupied Chevron's Parabe platform off the southern coast of Nigeria, to protest against the exploitation of their mineral reserves, while they have appaling living conditions. They also demanded a meeting with Chevron's MD, George Kirkjland.
"Our oil feeds this country, this corrupt government, the United States, and Europe - and yet we don't have electricity," said Daniel Ekepebide, president of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities. "We don't move until something changes."
After four days Chevron called in the military and police, and flew troops out to the platform in their own helicopters. The troops began shooting as they landed. Two of the Ijaw youths were killed and several more injured.
Lawyers for the Ijaw activists are now preparing to file suit against Chevron for complicity in the killings. They are using the same New York legal firm, the Centre for Constitutional Rights, that won a similar landmark ruling against Unocal in 1987, when a California court ruled that the oil company could be sued in a US court for alleged human rights abuses in Myanmar. - Reuters 12-10-98 & San Francisco Bay Guardian 18-11-98
Watchdog under fire.Who is the anti-corporate superhero? Could it be mild-mannered (subversive anarchist) Anne Robinson of the BBC's Watchdog programme?
In August representatives of 10 of the UK's largest companies met to discuss how to deal with adverse publicity from the consumer affairs programme. Companies including BT, Ford, and Procter & Gamble complained that they were given insufficient right to reply to allegations made against them and that apologies or retractions could be made up to 18 months after a story was aired. But the BBC's head of consumer programmes, Anne Morrison, said, "They know we need responses from them for our programmes… so they take a long time in coming back to us… making it difficult for us to run an item. Then they threaten legal action". One BBC insider said the volume of legal letters they receive from offended corporations amounts almost to harrassment.- Independent 5-8-98 & Media Guardian 4-1-99
Granada in Fattism Row
An executive with corpulent corporate conglomerate Granada caused outrage by declaring that he would not employ fat people, branding them unhealthy with a "slothful and slovenly" approach to work. Gordon Towell, a managing director with the leisure group made his views known on Nicky Campbell's Radio 5 phone-in show. He identified himself only as "Gordon from Bedford", an employer of "quite a number of people" but his full identity was leaked out later, much to Granada's embarrassment. "We are an equal opportunities employer," said a company spokesman. Investigators from the Equal Opportunities Commission have yet to find evidence of discrimination on the grounds of bigoted or offensive views.
Later Mr Towell made the statement "If my lighthearted remarks have caused offence then I apologise." Where do they find these people?
Why the Klan Loves Nuclear
When BNFL's American subsidiary Urenco teamed up with Louisiana Energy Services to find a site for an $800m uranium enrichment plant it didn't expect support from the Ku Klux Klan.
After considering a wide range of possible sites for the plant the Urenco/LES consortium set its sites on the tiny backwoods town of Forest Grove. The town is unincorporated, has a 97% Afro-American population and is extremely poor. Not the kind of place from which they would expect much organised resistance.But in spite of the slick public relations exercises, the town began a nine-year legal battle against the development. Professor Robert Bullard, a sociologist, who investigated, says: "They aimed for the poorest, most politically vulnerable community... Choosing a black, unincorporated town was inevitable." The racial dimension of the case brought even the attention of the Klan who staged demonstrations in the town shortly before a ruling was issued in May 1997. The Licensing Board rejected LES's application for the uranium plant. For the first time in its history, US regulators cited "the possibility that racial considerations played a part in the site selection", and the "disparate impact" of the plant on African Americans.
"We just collect the dividends," said BNFL's Director of Fuels.
- Observer 16-8-98
Coca-Cola: such a sweet drinks company!
The Zambian Government has had a sweet taste of corporate bullying from the drinks company whose products are so famously good for (kicking you in) the teeth.
Last May, Coca-Cola doubled its drinks price in an attempt to armtwist the Zambian government into discounting the corporation’s excise duty payments. At first, the Commerce and Industry Minister seemed to give way, and down went Coke’s drink prices. But when President Chiluba over-ruled the Minister in a David-versus Goliath bid to stand up to the mega-corporation, it re-instated the price hike and threatened to pull out of Zambia altogether, at a cost of 15,000 jobs. The Government has refused to back down, and Coke is now set to go, provoking mixed responses among the Zambian business community.
One businessman said, “I don’t blame Coca-Cola .... the Government, as usual, went on the negotiating table as a weak partner.” But another defended the Government’s stand, saying, “Why should the Government jump whenever they dangle a carrot? These are the usual tricks of international companies. They always want it easy”. And Zambian economist Gilbert Mudena said, “Big companies come here, make their money and send it out leaving us poorer than we were before....” And he ruefully commented, “Liberalisation has made Zambia the greatest exporter of foreign currency!”
Artistic-Interlude - In the Beginning
In the beginning was the Plan.
And then came the Assumptions,
and the Assumptions were without form.
And the Plan was completely without substance.
And the Darkness was upon the face of the Workers.
And they spoke among themselves, saying: “It is a crock of shit, and it stinketh.”
And the Workers went unto their Supervisors, and sayeth: “It is a pail of dung, and none can abide the odour thereof.”
And the Supervisors went unto their Managers and sayeth unto them: “It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong such that none can abide by it.”
And the Managers went unto the Directors and sayeth: “It is a vessel of fertiliser, and none can abide its strength.”
And the Directors spoke among themselves, saying to one another: “It contains that which aids plant growth and is very strong.”
And the Directors went unto the Vice-Presidents, and sayeth unto them: “It promises growth, and is very powerful.”
And the Vice-Presidents went unto the President, and sayeth unto him: “This new plan will actively promote the growth and efficiency of this company, and certain areas in particular.”
And the President looked upon the Plan.
And saw that it was good,
and the Plan became Policy.
And that is how shit happens. - ‘?’ 5-2-99
Dane MUCK comes to Ireland?
In April 1997, the Danish Government finally shut down a chemical plant operated by H & C Prom Kemi Aps (known simply as “Prom”) at Viernose, a village in southern Zeeland. The government stated in a memo that the environmental agencies had “recorded countless violations ... and ... attempts to mislead the authorities”. Yet despite “countless notifications” to the police (offences included the illegal incineration of benzyl cyanide residues, violation of air emission requirements and a failure to replace carbon filters), and two convictions against company employees, “the company has displayed neither the will nor ability to ... remove the accumulated chemical waste”. The Danish taxpayer will now have to foot a bill of £1-2 million to clean up the mess.
So the company is trying to set up in Ireland, and has registered itself under the name Taney Park International Ltd, at 57 Dame Street, Dublin 2. Watch this space...
Metal Bashers
UK metals giant Billiton wants to set up a zinc refinery at Coega, on the coast of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. According to environmental and community groups, the local township population already suffers high pollution levels, and key reports on hazardous waste disposal and economic impacts have been kept from the public. Residents likely to be forcibly removed haven’t even been told about the proposals (let alone consulted), and those remaining are likely to suffer “severe health impacts”. Moreover, the refinery itself is within 500 metres of a fragile marine reserve - Billington’s own scientific specialist admits that “The survival of the Jackass Penguin and the Roseate Terne is at risk”.
Stephen Byers (Peter Mandelson’s successor at the Department of Trade) has a letter in his in-tray pointing out that OECD guidelines (which he oversees) are repeatedly violated by the proposals. But hey, its good for the UK economy...
Lord Chancellor plans to protect multinationals from justice.
Another case brings the possibility of suing UK based multinationals closer to reality. Edward Connelly who worked for an RTZ subsidiary at a Uranium mine in Namibia from 1977 to 1982, has fought for many years to bring a damages claim against Rio Tinto in the UK. He believes that his job, which involved working in an atmosphere clouded with uranium dust, caused the throat cancer which has prevented him from working for the last twelve years. After four years of legal wrangling, the House of Lords recently ruled that Mr Connelly could bring a case against Rio Tinto in the UK courts.
However, a leaked letter shows that the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, plans to change the law to make it impossible for cases to be brought against multinationals for their subsidiaries’ crimes in Third World nations. He fears that legal liability for their actions overseas could encourage multinationals to shift their headquarters out of the UK. - Observer 8-11-98
Banks in Turmoil
The Irish financial system was disgraced by a series of scandals last year. In March ‘98 it emerged that the National Irish Bank (owned by National Australia Bank) had been stealing money from its own customers. The thefts which appear to have occurred at a number of NIB’s branches were conducted by overcharging interest rates, a practice known as skimming, and by making bogus transaction charges. Many hundreds of millions are estimated to have been stolen and allegations abound that such practices are widespread across the banking sector.
"In my view, NIB would have been the least guilty of all the banks. You are talking about hundreds of millions in over-charging over the years," claimed Mr Mulcahy of the director of the Irish Small And Medium Enterprises (ISME) group who offered a reward of up to £20,000 to bank staff who reveal details of any scams.
It later emerged that Allied Irish Bank had knowingly allowed customers to evade tax by setting up bogus non-resident accounts. Over £1bn were held in 53000 bogus accounts at Allied Irish Bank in the early 90s and another £500m was held at three other banks. Investigations were hampered, however, by the fact that the AIB destroyed many of its records.
Such practices may not be restricted to Ireland however. “Some banks are getting away with what amounts to theft,” said Dick Sargent of Audit UK, an Oxfordshire company that investigates complaints against UK banks. “We have found that in 82.7% of the 7000 audits we have carried out there are errors in the banks’ favour.”
HSE Prosecutes Monsanto and Perryfields
Both Monsatan and Perryfields are to stand trial in February for allegedly breaching conditions of the consent for them to conduct field trials of genetically modified (GM) winter oilseed rape at Rothwell, Lincolnshire. During a routine inspection of the trial site it was found that certain controls, restricting the transfer of GM pollen to neighbouring crops, had been partially removed prior to flowering. The cases are due to be heard at Caistor Magistrates’ Court, South Street, Caistor, Lincs at 10am, 17th February.
Outrunning the Exchequer
A legal loophole has allowed BP and Amoco to avoid paying over £485m in duty on their recent merger. The loophole allows companies to avoid stamp duty reserve tax on bearer shares denominated in a foreign currency. In response to this the loophole was effectively closed at the end of January, by economic secretary, Patricia Hewitt. However two other recent international mergers have also escaped the new law, as they are already so far advanced. Both the merger of Zeneca with Astra, and the purchase of AirTouch Communications by Vodafone, have beaten the deadline with the exchequer losing more than £1.5bn.- Financial Times 1-2-99
Its good to talk
In order to celebrate the opening of the Newbury Bypass the following mobile phone numbers registered to a Mr T Allan of Mott McDonald Group escaped into the wild. 0973 177905, 0973 197635, 0973 833563, 0973 363010, 0973 527965, 0973 640659, 0973 239319. Now you can share your joy with the designers of Britain's favourite new road.
Can the leopard change its spots?
The new North-West Regional General Manager of the Environment Agency was announced in July to loud jeers from environmentalists. Justin McCracken's relevant experience includes 20 years with ICI, working in a range of its manufacturing and technology-based businesses, he is presently Managing Director of ICI Katalco, a Teesside-based international technology business.
Unreasonable demands
Dennis Webb, CEO of Beazer, called for the abolition of the planning system recently. He accused local authorities of crippling profitability with "unreasonable demands".
“You don't get the same level of volume that you would get without the system," he said, denying that abolition of planning rules would lead to "cementification" of the country. Furthermore construction companies have a vested interest in creating a pleasant environment and would be able to regulate themselves. Beazer had just reported an increase in interim pre-tax profits to £79.2 m. - Independent 10-9-98
Cola-mandarin-balls
Apparently both Pepsi and Coca-Cola had difficulties trying to penetrate the Chinese market. In Chinese, Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave", whilst the Coca-Cola name was first read as "Ke-kou-ke-la", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "ko-kou-ko-le", translating as "happiness in the mouth". What's wrong with tea?
Let them know
The Institute of Directors is become concerned that the public's perception of business and 'business ethics' is none too favourable these days. In response to the problem they have set up the HUB Initiative "a ten year movement or process for change. The first phase… is a phase of enquiry." Specifically they want to know the answers to three questions: "1. What would you most like to tell business? [where did I put my dictionary of invective? -Ed.] 2. What would your ideal business be like? 3. Of the businesses you know, which do you most respect? Why?"
For more details contact the Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED. HUB@iod.org.uk 0171 451 3377
Bomb-proof principles
Tarmac’s in the environment again and is now favourite to win an £80 million contract to refit Number 9 dock at Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth. The contract to strengthen the walls of Number 9 dock to make it earthquake proof is part of a £350 million redevelopment of the dockyard to allow the refitting and refuelling of the UK's Trident submarine fleet.
- Contract Journal 9-12-98
Europe Celebrates
Europe chose an unusual way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights last year. They took a controversial case against the USA to the World Trade Organisation, on behalf of certain European TNCs who do business with Burma. The case challenges a Massachusetts State law that refuses awarding public contracts to corporations that do business with the abusive and much reviled military regime of Burma. If successful the case will prevent any further such laws. Siemens and Unilever were amongst those lobbying hard for the move.
- Independent 22-9-98
Another nail in Rio’s Coffin
A $250m Amazon conservation scheme agreed at the 1992 Earth Summit is to fail due to economic restructuring imposed on Brazil by the International Monetary Fund. The scheme which would have preserved 10% of Brazil’s rainforest, required Brazil to put up only 10% of the money $25m. However in order to win a $41.3bn loan from the IMF Brazil has had to agree to strict public spending cuts and can no longer afford the scheme.
- New York Times 31-12-98
The Killer Instinct
“The solution is to make sure people stay hungry, the killer instinct always prevails and you’re after market share. If you’re going to be successful, you’ve got to have that attitude.” – Dennis Malamatinas, CEO Burger King, Financial Times 29-1-99
Factory Watch Begins
Monsanto also features in a new publication by Friends of the Earth. FoE’s new Factory Watch campaign has analysed the official data on toxic emissions from the twenty most polluting sites in the UK and presented on the internet (www.foe.co.uk/factorywatch/) so that UK citizens can check for themselves on polluters in their area. It is hoped that this will put a great deal more pressure on polluters to clean up their operations. It should be noted however that the data used comes from the Environment Agency whose figures may not be accurate, valid or up-to-date (see p.30-31).
Money to burn!
The Royal Dutch / Shell Group's pension fund has now grown so huge that Shell and employees' interest group VHP, who jointly run the fund, have taken the unprecedented move of stopping contributions to the pension fund. The deal is in the financial interests of both Royal Dutch and its employees who will no longer have to pay a proportion of their wages towards their pensions. - de Volksrant 2-7-98