The Norwegian state oil company Statoil has signed an agreement with unions that binds it to various commitments on labour standards.
The agreement, which covers 16,000 employees in 23 countries – including Angola, Azerbaijan Venezuela and Vietnam – also contains pledges on health and safety, human rights, the environment and relationships with local communities.
It was drawn up with the 20 million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), and is based on the guiding principles of the Global Compact initiative launched last year by the United Nations (EP4, 2000).
Statoil, which will be partially privatised later this year, says it will provide equal pay for men and women for work of equal value, pay fair wages ‘according to good industry standards in the country concerned’ and support a precautionary approach to environmental protection.
ICEM is discussing similar agreements with seven other companies, including Rio Tinto and Shell, general secretary Fred Higgs said.