The huge fund that's meant to preserve Norway's oil wealth for future generations is pulling out of shares that don't meet the government's ethical standards. Among them is the Wal-Mart discount store chain

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund is worth about USD 250 billion. It ranks as one of the biggest pension funds in the world.The ministry reported that it's excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Wal-Mart de Mexico and Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc from the fund "in line with recommendations from the Council on Ethics for the Fund."

Halvorsen's finance ministry officials cited "serious" and "systematic violations of human rights and labour rights" as its reason for pulling out of its Wal-Mart investments.

Norway's Council on Ethics claimed that an "extensive body of material indicates that Wal-Mart consistently and systematically employs minors in contravention of international rules, that working conditions at many of its suppliers are dangerous or health-hazardous, that workers are pressured into working overtime without compensations, that the company systematically discriminates against women in pay," and that attempts to organize workers into unions are stopped.

The council's assessments involve Wal-Mart's business operations in the US and Canada and at its suppliers in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Lesotho, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, Malawi, Madagascar, Swaziland, Bangladesh, China and Indonesia.

The council and Norway's central bank wrote to Wal-Mart last fall, asking them to comment on the allegations of violations of human rights. The Norwegian Finance Ministry said Wal-Mart never responded.

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http://www.aftenposten.no/english/bu...cle1341741.ece