SV asks the oil fund to clean up, while MDG and Rødt want to take up the matter with the government. The reactions are strong after news wrote about the Oil Fund’s investments in a hotel chain with several hotels in Qatar. – It is well known that conditions for many workers in the country are extremely poor. Workers’ rights have been under pressure for a long time. The oil fund’s investments there should be under strict supervision, says acting fiscal policy spokesperson in SV, Cato Brunvand Ellingsen. In a report that news has gained access to, it is revealed that the oil fund and certain Norwegian banks have invested in the hotel chain Accor Hotels. This is a hotel chain that is mentioned several times in the Qatar documentary “Qatar World Cup: Dirty Game”. There, among other things, it is claimed that the Accor group has used a subcontractor where the employees have lived in primitive and reprehensible conditions. – Must be a far more demanding owner Ellingsen says that he expects the oil fund to clean up its investments in Qatar. – This case shows that there is a need to question whether the Norwegian Pension Fund’s (SPU) expectations of the companies are strong enough, whether the ethics council’s investigations are good enough and whether the SPU is sufficiently open about its assessments, he says. SPU (the oil fund, editor’s note) has a separate, independent ethics council which will assess whether the fund’s investments are in line with the fund’s ethical guidelines. Acting financial policy spokesperson in SV, Cato Brunvand Ellingsen. Photo: Helge Brekke The head of the Ethics Council, Eli Ane Lund, has admitted to news that there are definitely companies that SPU has invested in that are linked in various ways to violations of employee rights, including forced labour. – When the Ethics Council finds that there are indications of forced labor at most of the companies that have been checked, then it is an extremely serious sign. That should be interpreted as the oil fund must be a much more demanding owner than it is today, Ellingsen believes. State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Kjetil Vevle (Ap) says he cannot comment on individual investments made by the oil fund, but gives this comment by e-mail. – I think the Ethics Council exercises its role in a good way. The council is professionally independent, and takes up matters on its own initiative. In addition, they receive inquiries from others about companies or events they should investigate. The government is concerned with transparency and ethical awareness in the management of our joint savings in the Government Pension Fund abroad. – The framework for administration is anchored in the Storting. There is broad political agreement on this framework, including the ethical guidelines, he comments. Member of the finance committee and deputy chairperson in Rødt, Marie Sneve Martinussen. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix Will ask the government to look at the guidelines Member of the finance committee and deputy leader of Rødt, Marie Sneve Martinussen, believes for her part that the Ethics Council’s control of the oil fund’s investments is not good enough. – If there is any point in having an Ethics Council for the oil fund, they must reconsider what they believe is a “high enough threshold” to get rid of investments. – The Minister of Finance (Trygve Slagsvold Vedum) has the highest political responsibility for the oil fund. I would like to ask him to explain why the oil fund retains its stake in Accor, when the company’s activities in Qatar are so well documented. – I would also like to ask the government to take a closer look at the Ethics Council’s guidelines, she says. The report “No questions asked” looks at which financial institutions are involved in or finance construction, construction and hotels in Qatar. Photo: David Skovly / news Storting representative for the Green Party, Rasmus Hansson, says that the party will take up the matter with the minister. – With all the attention on the soccer World Cup, the oil fund can contribute better to human rights than otherwise if they react quickly and clearly to such a case in Qatar right now. – The fund must use the dialogue with the company to establish zero tolerance for unsustainable treatment of labour, and demand documentation that the problem is resolved. – MDG is going to ask the minister if he ensures that the oil fund follows up on this, he says. – We assume that the board follows up Fiscal policy spokesman for the Progress Party, Hans Andreas Limi, does not share that opinion. He does not believe that the Storting or political parties “should think too much about the oil fund’s individual investments apart from the annual report, which is dealt with thoroughly in the Storting”. – We assume that the board follows up on what has been uncovered and takes the necessary steps to follow up on this investment, he comments. The choice of Qatar to host the football World Cup has met with harsh criticism. Not least when it comes to the conditions for the migrant workers in the country. The Norwegian State Pension Fund’s director of ownership abroad, Carine Smith Ihenacho, has told news about the Qatar report that it describes highly objectionable working conditions, but that they do not agree with the criticism of the fund. The French hotel chain Accor says in an email to news that they have a strict relationship with their subcontractors to comply with their ethical principles. They believe that the conditions presented in the documentary only apply to a single subcontractor that they use. This subcontractor no longer works for them, the company states.
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Asks the oil fund to clean up investments in Qatar after the news case – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
