A-Infos (en) Britain, Alt. media, Bringing the G8 Home - special report from Corporate Watch

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Corporate Watch's new hard-hitting report, "Bringing the G8*
home: corporate involvement in and around the G8 in Scotland
2005" is now on the web, available to read, print and distribute. Go
to www.corporatewatch.org and follow the links.
The report brings together a lot of relevant information and exposes
the links between corporate power, poverty and climate change. It
also focuses on the summit's location this year in Scotland and
includes an analysis of "Scotland Plc" as a microcosm of the
current global capitalist system.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The title of Corporate Watch's new report, 'Bringing the G8 home',
illustrates our aim to ground, in a local reality, the effects of
corporate-led globalisation policies as advanced by the G8 leaders.
With the G8 Summit to be held in Scotland in July 2005, this is an
ideal opportunity to explore the links between the G8, corporate
power and the effects of neo-liberalism in Scotland.

Corporate power is a fact of our global system. For this reason, it is
not just the behaviour of individual companies that needs to be
highlighted, but the fact that instruments of global governance such
as the G8 still propagate the convenient ideology that increasing the
wealth of corporations and their private shareholders will deliver
greater prosperity for all. Blair, Brown - and Bono - say they want to
use the Gleneagles Summit to tackle the issues of climate change
and poverty in Africa. We argue in this report that the corporate
agenda advanced by the G8 ultimately contradicts the achievement
of any genuine and lasting ecological and social justice. Precisely
because of the corporate agenda, any pronouncements from the G8
are likely to be nothing but 'greenwash'.

That the G8 is coming to Scotland is particularly significant. This is
not only because the free market ideology that underpins the G8
was born in the 18th century philosophical movement known as the
'Scottish Enlightenment', but also because Scotland is a very good
example of corporate-led globalisation in microcosm. The Scottish
Executive has made it explicit that it wants to use the G8 to
'showcase' Scottish enterprise. What the Scottish Executive is
unlikely to be 'showcasing' is the erosion of democracy these
companies are causing, and the social and environmental damage
they are responsible for both in Scotland and worldwide. It certainly
won't be highlighting that the 6th July, the start date of the
Gleneagles G8 Summit, is the anniversary of the Piper Alpha
disaster, a clear example of corporate negligence that resulted in the
loss of 167 Scottish lives.

The report is in three sections:

1. The relationship between the G8 and corporations in general;
2. The companies likely to benefit directly from the G8 coming to
Scotland, in particular, the UK drinks multinational, Diageo who
own the Gleneagles estate where the G8 Summit will actually
occur;
3. A more in depth look at Scotland Plc., covering major industry
sectors in Scotland.

1. Corporate Engagement at the G8

The G8 is ostensibly an informal meeting, not a policy making
body. However, in reality, its summits and ministerial meetings are
very much part of the architecture of current global governance.
The G7 nations (the G8 minus Russia), also known as the 'Quad',
have historically co-ordinated their trading positions at the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), and the G8 control half the votes at the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Discussions at
the various G8 meetings help these major economic powers to iron
out differences and align their positions.

In all the G8 countries, corporate control over the democratic
process has reached unprecedented levels. Corporations, however,
still have a tangible influence on the G8 process itself:

* Business leaders sit on the various 'stakeholder' task forces that
the G8 has established over the last ten years, such as the Digital
Opportunities Taskforce and the 2000- 2002 Renewables Taskforce
(which was co-chaired by the then Shell Chairman, Mark Moody
Stuart);

* The chairman of the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC),
arguably the most powerful lobby group in the world, meets with
the President of the G8 on the eve of the Summit to make sure they
are all singing from the same hymn sheet. This year's ICC
president is Yong Sung Park, CEO of the South Korean company,
Doosan Heavy Industries, well known for virulently anti-union
policies.

* The G8 allows prominence to blatant corporate PR efforts, such
as the Global Business Coalition (GBC) on HIV/AIDS, again
co-chaired by our favourite corporate statesman, Mark Moody
Stuart. The GBC had a lobbying presence at the Genoa G8 Summit
(2001) and may well be present this year. The GBC's presence
would be particularly ironic considering the fact that the policies
endorsed by the G8 in Africa – to open it up rapidly to the global
economy – have contributed to the extreme poverty and social
dislocation that has spread HIV/AIDS across the continent

* The G8 conveniently ignores the activities of corporations. If Blair
and Brown were serious about tackling the two pressing issues of
climate change and poverty in Africa, they would start by looking at
the activities of the G8 oil corporations, not just in causing climate
change, but in creating political instability, supporting corruption,
human rights abuses and ecological devastation across Africa. They
would also look at the activities of their arms companies in
exacerbating conflict. From Congo to Sudan, it is not hard to find
examples of G8 oil and arms corporations making money in the
midst of devastation, poverty and conflict. Many of these oil and
arms corporations have a presence in Scotland.

2. The companies likely to benefit from the G8 coming to Scotland

Diageo – drinking at the G8's table

UK drinks multinational, Diageo, owns Gleneagles hotel, where the
G8 Summit will be taking place. Corporate Watch believes that this
company will not only benefit materially from the Summit taking
place at its hotel, but also from the agenda being set by the G8 on
economic and structural support for Africa.

Diageo is the 11th largest corporation in the UK, owning many
well-known branded drinks, such as Guinness, Smirnoff, Red
Stripe, Johnny Walker and Gordon's gin. Scotland is a major
production base for the company which has a presence in almost
every country worldwide.

Diageo is one of Africa's most powerful corporations who can only
benefit from proposals to open up Africa further to trade
liberalisation and 'foreign direct investment'. Diageo has increased
its market access across the continent through aggressive
marketing and by attacking traditionally brewed alcohol as posing
severe health hazards. Attacking homebrew directly means
attacking a small scale industry, mostly carried out by women, that
brings much needed income into the household. Diageo's breweries
in Uganda and Tanzania have been responsible for large scale
pollution.

3. Scotland Plc

Defining a 'Scottish' corporation is a problematic exercise. Just
because a company is registered or headquartered in Scotland, or
even has the word 'Scotland' in its title, does not mean to say that it
is actively contributing to the Scottish economy. In most cases, the
biggest 'Scottish' companies are actually sucking wealth out to
parent companies and shareholders elsewhere, being listed on the
London or US stock exchanges. Scottish companies, as we will see,
only owe their allegiance to the international money system.

The companies commonly held to be Scotland's biggest
corporations, have predominantly grown in two ways. First, through
external acquisitions, with the big banks, the Royal Bank of
Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland being a good example. This
also means that a large proportion of the employees of these
companies are based outside Scotland. Second, through one of the
major features of corporate-led globalisation - the privatisation of
public services. This is especially true for companies in the
transport and electricity sectors such as ScottishPower and
Stagecoach.

* Privatising Scotland

The Scottish Executive is strong promoter of privatisation, and in
particular the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) where public works
are built and managed by a private company, then rented back to
the government. The first PFI scheme in the UK was the Skye Toll
Bridge (between the Scottish mainland and the Isle of Skye) which
was owned by the Bank of America for nine years until determined
protests forced the Scottish Executive to buy it back at great
expense.

PFI schemes in Scotland include hospitals, schools, a prison
(Kilmarnock), parts of the immigration service and major road
building projects. Large amounts of public money have been
handed to major multinational corporations such as Sodexho
(Scotland's largest provider of food and management services),
Serco, Reliance, Balfour Beatty and Jacobs Babtie. The scheme has
proved controversial in Scotland, especially with an investigation by
the Sunday Herald (June 2004) revealing that Scotland is
mortgaged up to the hilt to pay for PFI schemes, owing debts to
private consortia of at least £25bn over the next 25-30 years.

* The pro-corporate Scottish political elite

The corporate agenda and corporate lobbying are welcomed as
enthusiastically by the Scottish Executive as by the G8. Devolution
in 1999 allowed Scotland a limited amount of self-rule, though not
over international issues, such as defence and trade. Despite not
having a lot of power and the clearly pro-business outlook of First
Minister, Jack MacConnell, a former PR executive, corporations
still concentrate their lobbying efforts on the Scottish Parliament
and the Scottish Executive, not the least, to keep politicians sweet
so they can continue polluting at will.

The Executive's pro-business stance can also be witnessed by the
numerous staff exchanges that have taken place between the
Executive and industry, and the funding that the Executive has
given to corporate lobby groups, such as the Scottish steering
committee of the World Business Council on Sustainable
Development. Corporate lobbyists also swarm around the Scottish
Parliament, Holyrood House, wining and dining MSPs. The
'Scottish Parliament Business Exchange' scheme has also allowed
corporate lobbyists unprecedented access to policy makers. The
controversy around the building of the Scottish Parliament sums up
the atmosphere of corporate corruption that could be said to
characterise the positive relationship between Scotland's political
elite and big business.

* A warm welcome to corporations: Hi-tech and biotechnology

With traditional Scottish industries such as steel and shipbuilding in
decline due to cheaper labour forces elsewhere, the UK government
and the Scottish Executive have pushed high tech industries and
new technologies as the way forward for Scottish economic
development. During the 1980's, major global electronics
companies were tempted to Scotland with the offer of financial
subsidies. In recent years, these companies have scaled back their
Scottish operations, relocating to countries with lower labour costs.
The Scottish Executive has also backed biotechnology in Scotland,
which has proved to be a similar burst bubble. PPL Therapeutics,
the commercial wing of the Roslin Insitute that brought us Dolly
the sheep, faced bankruptcy and was bought out last summer. The
corporate front group, the Institute of Nanotechnology, is based at
Stirling University.

* Edinburgh's financial sector

Some of the biggest companies operating in Scotland are in the
financial sector. Edinburgh is a major European financial centre,
home to many banks, investment houses and insurance companies.
In recent years, many of the life insurance and assurance
companies have changed their structure from mutual companies,
owned by their policy holders, to become corporations owned by
their shareholders. These companies' investments follow the
pattern of the global financial sector as a whole – predominantly
in oil and drugs companies and the big other big international
banks.

Royal Bank of Scotland is the 6th largest bank in the world, and a
major financier of development projects such as the Baku Ceyhan
oil pipeline; Standard Life is Europe's largest mutual life assurance
company; Scottish Widows is among Europe's largest fund
management companies and 3i, according to its website, is
Europe's most active investor in the oil and gas sector, and has
shares in the Glensanda quarry, near Argyll, one of the world's
largest and most secretive, granite super quarries.

* Environmental destruction

Apart from funding unsustainable industries, Scotland itself is
home to many environmentally destructive industries. Peat
extraction, mainly by English and US corporations, has also
decimated Scotland's rare and protected peat bogs, with only 9%
remaining pristine. Oil and gas extraction, besides being a major
contributor to climate change, has also devastated the North Sea
marine ecology over the last 45 years. Shell and others are now
moving into the ecologically pristine and little understood ecology
of the Atlantic Frontier, off the Shetland Islands.

The Scottish economy is reliant on the oil industry, with Aberdeen
known as Europe's oil capital. However with North Sea oil reserves
having peaked in 1999, oil companies are giving mixed messages
about the future of the region, with BP mostly selling off its
concerns in the North Sea. Numerous international oil companies
and oil service companies are still based in Aberdeen, including
Shell, Total, AMEC and Halliburton. Scotland has its own oil
exploration companies and oil service companies, including Cairn
Energy, who rocketed into the FTSE 100 last year after it struck oil
in the Rajasthan desert and is now exploring in ecologically
sensitive regions in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Besides the impact on the environment, the oil industry is hugely
destructive on communities living around BP's Grangemouth oil
refinery, one of two refineries in Scotland. The oil refinery is
surrounded by a petrochemicals complex including Syngenta and
Avicia.

Meanwhile, Scotland has one of the most unequal and secretive
systems of landownership in the world. 1250 landowners own
around 2/3 of Scotland – this is mostly the aristocracy, but also
rich businessmen who see land as a good investment, reaping
subsidies for monoculture farming and forestry, as well as for
corporate entertainment, in the form of hunting and shooting.

* The co-option of traditional industries

Besides plundering Scotland's environment, corporations have
plundered Scotland's culture. The co-option of traditional industries
by multinationals is especially evident in the alcohol sector, where
Diageo now owns many of the traditional single malt whisky
distilleries including Talisker and Oban. This trend is also evident
in the tourism industry, where major international hotel chains,
such as Best Western and the Hilton Group, increasingly await
tourists wanting a taste of 'traditional' Scotland. Scotland's fishing
industry, which traditionally supported many small coastal
communities in the North and North East of Scotland, both through
economic pressures and the disastrous Common Fisheries Policy
(CFP) is now controlled by a handful of Scottish millionaires.
Meanwhile, overfishing has forced various species to the brink of
extinction.

* The corporate assault on labour rights in Scotland

Finally, labour rights in Scotland, as elsewhere, are being eroded as
a consequence of corporate globalisation. This is very evident in the
oil industry where the erosion of union power by the oil
corporations has led to a lowering in health and safety standards.
Privatisation is also bringing in aggressively anti-union
multinationals, such as Sodexho, who in recent years, tried
underhand tactics to try and break a strike at the Glasgow Royal
Infirmary. Casualisation is becoming a feature of the Scottish labour
force, epitomised by the Scotland becoming known as a 'nation of
call-centres', with many international companies having call and
contact centres in Scotland. Many of these are now offshoring to
India in search of cheaper labour.

Conclusion

This report isn't only about Scotland and the G8. It aims to raise the
important questions that many are asking today about democracy in
the face of global rule. Will we be subsumed into a a
fossil-fuel-addicted economy or will we resist to build vibrant
sustainable local economies? Which will win out – ecological
sanity or pathological capitalism? Will it be the corporate
globalisation of profit and control, or a peoples' globalisation of
ideas, creativity and autonomy?

As with many other regions where corporate-led globalisation has
prompted resistance, Scotland too has a long and proud history of
resistance to corporate and centralised power. With its vibrant
environmental, peace and radical labour movements, the protests
around the G8 in Scotland 2005, promise a great deal in terms of
radical ideas and action. Corporate Watch hopes that this report will
contribute to a greater understanding of the issue of corporate
power both in Scotland and globally.

See the full report on www.corporatewatch.org
Atilde;©fugiées en France.
*De plus, cette situation est aujourdâ

==========================================
From: Uri Gordon <uri-A-riseup.net>
* [Ed. Note. The UK Dissent! which is antiauthoritarian anticapitalist
direct action social struggle initiative organize the wide movement
struggle against the upcoming G8 meeting in Scotland]
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