COPENHAGEN/LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Norway's wealth

fund will back a proposal demanding Nike ( NKE ) examine whether

binding agreements with workers would improve its ability to

address human rights issues when sourcing from high-risk

countries, the fund said on Thursday.

More than 60 investors last year wrote a joint letter to

Nike ( NKE ) urging it to pay $2.2 million in allegedly unpaid wages to

more than 4,000 garment workers at two suppliers in Cambodia and

Thailand.

Labour rights groups said the workers lost wages after

COVID-19 factory shutdowns. Nike ( NKE ) has denied the allegations.

In voting intentions published on Thursday, ahead of Nike's ( NKE )

Sept. 10 annual shareholders' meeting, the Norwegian fund said

it would back the shareholder proposal, against Nike ( NKE ) management

guidance.

The $1.7 trillion fund owns 0.92% of Nike's ( NKE ) shares, a stake

worth around $1.05 billion as of June 30, according to fund

data. That makes it Nike's ( NKE ) ninth-biggest shareholder, LSEG data

shows.

"The board should account for material sustainability risks

facing the company, and the broader environmental and social

consequences of its operations and products," the fund said on

its website.

The fund will also vote in favour of a shareholder proposal

that demands Nike ( NKE ) reassess its sustainability strategy, after

the sportswear giant missed environmental targets it had set for

itself.

But in line with Nike ( NKE ) management guidance, Norway's wealth

fund said it would not back a shareholder proposal asking Nike ( NKE )

to assess how effective its supply chain policies are at

ensuring workers' rights.