Transcript presentation

Transnational Corporations
The spiders and their webs…
Amit Sengupta
PHM-India
Third People’s Health Assembly
Cape Town, 6th July-11th July, 2012
Power of TNCs….
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Of the 100 largest economies in the
world, 51 are corporations
•
The top 200s’ combined sales are 18
times the size of the combined annual
income of the poorest 1.2 billion people
•
Sales of the Top 200 are equivalent of
28% of world economic activity, but only
employ 0.8% of the world’s workforce
TNCs – global tentacles…
•
They seek markets wherever they may be,
whatever may be the cost
•
They, today, locate operations in different parts
of the world to benefit from reduced wages,
lower standards of work conditions, less
stringent environment protection laws
•
They are today able to bargain the best
conditions for themselves – low wages, poor
regulation – as they shift from place to place
•
They are today a major cause of loss of
livelihoods and loss of control over natural
resources
Tobacco….
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Philip Morris targeted WHO as part of a
massive and far-reaching campaign to subvert
tobacco control activities around the world
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Philip Morris sued the Uruguayan govt. for its
regulation that requires tobacco companies to cover
80 per cent of their cigarette packs with pictorial
warning labels
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Phillip Morris is using provisions in the
Australia-Hong Kong Biliateral Investment
treaty (BIT) to demand compensation for
Australia's Plain cigarette packaging antismoking legislation
Processed Food…..
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Nestle, World's largest and most “diversified food
company” in the world, with around 2,50,000
employees worldwide, 500 factories in 100
countries and offering over 8,000 products
•
In 2004, monitoring results from 69 countries showed
up over 2,000 violations of the baby food marketing
code, and Nestlé was responsible for more violations
than any other company.
•
It resort to double standards -- advertises the same
product differently in countries of the North and the
South.
•
in India, Nestle uses a surrogate front organisation –
the Nestle Nutrition Institute to sponsor conferences
of doctors in “Emerging Trends in Pediatric Nutrition”.
Pharma …….
•
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will pay $3 billion in
fines and plead guilty to criminal charges
that it unlawfully promoted its antidepressant medicines Paxil and Wellbutrin and
failed to report safety data about Avandia its
diabetes drug
•
GSK unlawfully marketed Paxil to treat
depression in patients under 18 despite the fact
that the drug was unapproved for pediatric use
•
GSK paid millions of
dollars to doctors to
speak at and attend
meetings which it
sponsored
Can TNCs be controlled?
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‘Social Responsibility’ approach
Persuasion …..
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‘Social Accountability’ approach
Independent accounting…
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‘Economic threat’ approach
Profits threatened with boycotts….
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‘Punitive’ approach
Sanctions, divestment….
Thalidomide
1960s…
Bhopal
1984……
And many more ….
And many more to
follow?
With adequate profit, capital is very
bold. A certain 10% will ensure its
employment anywhere; 20% certain
will produce eagerness; 50%, positive
audacity; 100% will make it ready to
trample on all human laws; 300%, and
there is not a crime at which it will
scruple, nor a risk it will not run, even
to the chance of its owner being
hanged……