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Thursday 23 June No 2 - Pensions Reports
Stop our money from cutting our own throats
Motion 31 - Pension Fund Investments and Trade
Union Organisation
There is an estimated £260 billion in UK pension
funds under the influence of trade union trustees.
Motion 31 was carried and called for a co-ordinated
trade union approach to ensure that they can effectively influence
pension fund management towards ethical and socially responsible
investment.
It also calls for UNISON to develop a comprehensive
program to organise our money in the interest of our members and
work to develop and train members to become effective trustees.
Mike Kirby declared, "I'm a member of a club
with 165,000 others. We each pay in a sum of money each pay day.
Our fund has £6.25bn. It's one of the biggest of it's kind
in the UK. It's in the top twenty. It covers 210 employers. But
I'm not allowed a say in what it does with my money. It's my pension
fund.
Mike continued "It's arguable that these funds
are egalitarian in distribution and are a means of democratising
capital. But first we need influence. Local authority pension
funds employ UNISON members.
"After 18 years of Tory rule trade unions had
high hopes that Labour would get to grips with pensions policy
and provide better protection for members of occupational pension
schemes.
Billions of retirement funds have been lost with
Corporate disasters such as Worldcom and Enron, and a decline
in UK share prices. Little accountability is placed upon those
who make the original investments.
Mike said, "The pensions Act 1995 has strengthened
the position of union trustees, where we have them and will allow
them to decide on investments policy on grounds of ethical and
social responsibility as well as monetary profit.
"Labour is still not clearly committed to 50%
membership control of schemes, only that it will keep the issue
under review.
The international experience sets a valuable example:
with American worker capital strategies stopping finance of destructive
mergers and acquisitions, "stopping our money from cutting
our own throats. In Holland, sister union, Abvakabo encourages
trustees to follow three rules - not to invest in countries flagrantly
violating human rights, - nor in corporations whose main activity
is weapons industry; - and to emphasise companies with corporate
Socially Responsible Investment.
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Want to take us on on pensions? Come ahead big
man!
 UNISON's
commitment to continue and develop its campaign against the attacks
on public sector pensions was overwhelmingly carried.
Scotland's Jane Carolan said, "Our members
have signed up to a pension scheme under one set of terms and
conditions, they had planned their life around these and then
changes were being brought in by the back door.
"This union won a major victory, but our demand
was that changes were revoked and negotiations should begin. The
threat from the Government is still there
Jane emphasised the need to take the Campaign to
every member in every branch and every potential member. "Negotiations
may succeed or they may fail. If they fail we will move towards
industrial action. "Our members will not pay for employers
who took contribution holidays to subsidise the poll tax."
Highlighting the need for changes but changes by
consent, Jane said, "We have pension schemes that were designed
for the adult male bread winner - its an absolute scandal that
there are a lot of our members who get nothing out of them because,
(for example) they are women or part time workers.
Jane concluded "The key to pensions victory
is unity - we have to work together to win.
Speaking on amendment 21.3, with a message from
Glasgow to John Prescott, Jim Snell, Glasgow City Branch, said,
"If he wants to take us on, Come ahead, big man!
Motion 21 carried as amended by 21.1, 21.3, 21.6,
21.7, 21.8, 21.9, 21.10
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Extend retirement age and we strike
Dave Prentis made it clear in no uncertain terms
that unless the government revoked the parliamentary order raising
the retirement age of public sector workers from 60 to 65 UNISON
would move to strike action.
On the union's leading role in the campaign so far,
Dave said "It was UNISON who brought together all the local government
unions. It was UNISON that kicked the TUC into action. It was
UNISON that put relentless pressure on our MPs and we will do
the same again."
Dave reiterated his promise to the Government, "We
will take strike action across all sectors and with our own sister
unions to defend our pensions. We will fight against attempts
to raise the pension age and fight for dignity and security for
all. If the order is not withdrawn we will not negotiate. We will
move towards strike action."
"Let's have no diversions and no distractions. Where
we want you is in the your branches organising preparing for the
fight of your life." Dave concluded "We are strong. We are United.
Keep your hands off our pensions."
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