The Norwegian State Pension Fund Divests from Tesla Due to Union-Busting Allegations

Rødt leader Marie Sneve Martinussen believes that it is beyond any doubt that the car manufacturer Tesla engages in systematic union-busting and denies its employees basic labor rights.

However, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) will not intervene in relation to the Government Pension Fund. In response to a written question from Martinussen’s party colleague in the Storting, Mimir Kristjansson, Vedum points out that the Ministry of Finance only sets the overall framework for management, and does not assess individual investments or Norges Bank’s ownership work related to individual companies.

– I am not planning to change this division of labour, was his reply.

Will change the rules

Marie Sneve Martinussen believes that the Norwegian State Pension Fund could sell out of Tesla on the basis of current guidelines.

– Under the guidelines for observation and exclusion of companies, it states, among other things, that gross or systematic violations of human rights and other particularly gross breaches of basic ethical norms can lead to exclusion, says Martinussen to FriFagbevegelse.

There is also an exception in the Central Bank Act which states that Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold can instruct the oil fund.

But when this does not happen, Rødt wants the oil fund to almost have to get it “in with a teaspoon”, by making the conditions for investments in the oil fund even clearer.

– Regardless of what the Norwegian Oil Fund or the Minister of Finance thinks, it is the Storting that decides the criteria that the Norwegian Oil Fund must adhere to for its investments. Now we propose that the oil fund should withdraw investments from companies that violate basic employee rights, refuse their employees to organize and refuse their employees a collective agreement, says Marie Sneve Martinussen.

[ – Jeg ville vært død i dag uten denne behandlingen ]

Promotes proposals

Together with party colleague Mímir Kristjánsson, she will put forward a so-called representative proposal in the Storting on Wednesday morning, which will ensure that “The Norwegian State Pension Fund withdraws its investments from companies that violate basic employee rights”.

The proposal will therefore be considered in the finance committee at the Storting in the new year, which will again make a recommendation for a decision to the Storting. The Minister of Finance must also comment on the matter to the committee.

The background for the proposal is the much-discussed dispute surrounding Tesla’s attitudes to an organized working life. IF Metall – Sweden’s answer to the Federation – has been on strike at Tesla’s workshops in Sweden since 27 October.

The strike and the demand for a collective agreement have broad support in Sweden, and a number of unions in and outside Sweden have notified and implemented sympathy actions. In Norway, Fellesforbundet goes into action on the same day that Rødt presents his proposal in the Storting.

The oil fund – that is, the Government Pension Fund International – invested in Tesla shares as early as 2020. At the beginning of 2021, the oil fund owned shares worth NOK 45.8 billion.

Norges Bank Investment Management, which runs the Norwegian oil fund, is Tesla’s 7th largest shareholder, with a stake of just under one percent (0.87), which is equivalent to around USD 6.8 billion at today’s share price.

LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik believes the State Pension Fund must now use its ownership power, and exclude the company if the company is not willing to enter into collective agreements.

[ Diskes i delstat: – En historisk avgjørelse ]

Systematic violations

Today, the oil fund can withdraw or refrain from “investing in companies that engage in gross and systematic violations of human rights and the ethical norm”.

The Rødt leader believes that employee rights are part of human rights.

– But the oil fund clearly has a stricter interpretation and a higher threshold. By explicitly tightening up and including employee rights in the guidelines, there will be no doubt, says Martinussen.

She believes this is a clear marching order.

– Basic employee rights and the right to organize must form the basis of the oil fund’s investments. It is particularly important at a time with an increasingly cynical international climate where trade unions are exposed to threats and union-busting from employers. We believe that our own oil fund should not support this.

She points out, among other things, that there have been cases in the US where employees who want to organize have been dismissed.

– There is a culture of fear, because you will be fired if you do not adapt. We are told that Tesla will go bankrupt if employees organize, as it is not a profitable company yet, she claims.

In Norway, among others, Tesla employees organize secretly, for fear of losing their jobs.

[ Foresatte og lærere: – Mange telefonsamtaler som er unødvendige ]

Denmark went out

One of Denmark’s largest pension funds decided on 6 December to sell its shares in Tesla, precisely because the American car company refuses to enter into agreements with trade unions.

Norwegian KLP and other Nordic funds are instead trying to influence the car manufacturer.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has stated the following to Reuters:

– We expect companies in which we invest to respect basic human rights, including employee rights.

Instead of selling out, the fund will influence policy over time, they have told Reuters.

[ – Ingen i Moskva frykter at unge norske gutter skal invadere Russland ]

2023-12-20 16:32:47
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