Dutch pension fund divests its Wal-Mart holdings

One of the world’s largest pension funds is divesting from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.  Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds, a Dutch pension fund, said it will no longer invest in the retail giant because of its repeated violation of international labor standards. The fund, which has more than $300 billion in assets and is the third-largest in the world, had more than $147 million invested in Walmart as of Sept. 30, 2011.

“This is an important day for Walmart associates who want to be treated with respect,” said Jennifer Stapleton, assistant director of the Making Change at Walmart campaign. “We’re pleased to see that ABP realizes that Walmart might be saying the right thing about respecting workers, but continues to engage in all kinds of bad behavior. This should send a clear message to Walmart and its shareholders: treating workers poorly is bad for business.”