Over 900 employees complain about CNPC

The employees of the Kazakh company AktobeMunaiGas have sent a letter of complaint to the president of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Hu Jintao. AktobeMunaiGas is a subsidiary of China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). In the letter, over 900 employees of AktobeMunaiGas ask the president of China to take appropriate measures to address the violation of "international norms". According to the letter, AktobeMunaiGas has been involved in several breaches of Kazakh law, such as violations of environmental laws, labor laws, tax laws, rules regarding the use of natural resources, and violations of norms and rules concerning the rights of shareholders.

In June 1997, CNPC acquired a 60.3 percent stake in AktobeMunaiGas, the fourth-largest oil company in Kazakhstan. CNPC now owns 85.42 percent of the shares of AktobeMunaiGas.

Another important subsidiary of CNPC, PetroChina, has been accused of complicity in human rights violations in Sudan. In January 2009, over 80 civil society organizations submitted an open letter to the UN Global Compact in support of a formal complaint against PetroChina. PetroChina is Sudan's largest oil industry partner and has financial links to the regime perpetuating the six-year humanitarian crisis in Darfur which many consider to be genocide. The complaint against PetroChina will be discussed by the Global Compact Board on July 24.