Double Standards for Norwegian Companies

Doble estándar de firmas noruegas
Olach - July 9, 2009

Opinion piece by Alejandro Salinas, director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Chiloé, OLACH, published in the newspaper La Estrella de Chiloé on June 25, 2009.

A packed agenda of activities was developed in Norway with Javier Ugarte, president of the CONATRASAL and Alex Munoz, director of ocean. They relay and denounce the serious health crisis and unemployment that affects salmon regions of southern Chile and that has meant the collapse of the corporate model of production and expulsion of some 20,000 workers in the salmon industry. The focus of the tour was put on the environmental impacts and economic and social degradation that are the regions of Los Lagos and Aysen.

The idea was to expose the reality of those who are employed in this sector, mainly in the Norwegian capital companies such as Marine Harvest and Mainstream, entities that do not have the same standards in Chile than in their home country. Evidenced in the record provided and discussed the double standard business, where there are large differences in pay, insurance coverage and respect for labor laws and environmental expense of Chilean workers.

At the annual meeting of shareholders of Marine Harvest will be asked to develop concrete actions of Corporate Social Responsibility, a term little practiced by the industry in Chile and insisting that they should identify and highlight their good practice, whatever the country where they operate.

CONATRASAL as the union of the Chilean aquaculture industry could reaffirm their affinity with the struggles and challenges of Workers Norway have, inviting them to their unions to monitor the deteriorating conditions that had already known in their visit to Chile by the end of the year 2007.

Finally we must say that public opinion in Norway is interested to know the conditions of their workers abroad. This knowledge can be key to pressure these companies to raise standards and working conditions in Chile.

"The saddest part is that Canada doesn't support this UN Declaration. And I need to travel to a foreign country to seek accommodation of our First Nations Titles and Rights, when the New Relationship is supposed to do these very things" concludes Chief Chamberlin.

The UN Declartaion has received support from BC First Nation groups.  BC First Nation organizations, including BCAFN, FNSummit and UBCIC, provided letters of support calling on the fish farm companies to act according to Norway's support on the UN Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights.