The annual TUC “Trustee Network” Conference takes place on Friday 22 June 2007 at the Cass Business School, London, EC1Y. Keynote speakers are James Purnell MP, Minister of State for Pensions Reform (who took my photo with Tom and Nick Cohen last month), Paul Myners, Chairman, Guardian PLC and Chair, Low Pay Commission (my pension fund sacked him and his company, Gartmore, as its fund manager in 1994 – something he describes as the “worse day in his life” – a Joke BTW) and Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary (photo with UNISON London region last week).
Seriously, this is the only Trade Union national meeting of member nominated trustees/representatives on pension schemes. Ordinary workers in this country actually own huge chunks of British and international capital via our pension schemes, life insurance policies and other collective investments (such as PEP’s, unit trusts, investment trusts). However, often we have little or even no influence over how this money is governed. Pensions are just deferred wages. We should be exercising our rights of ownership (as well as taking responsibility for what is done in our name).
The pressure group “Fair Pensions” describes how some of our money “is invested in companies that are attacking employees’ rights and fighting attempts to unionise. This can include the use of militias against trade unionists in South America to “Union-busting” in the UK. We need to use our investments to change some companies’ behaviour. Pension funds own almost a fifth of the stock market, but the vast majority of funds - including some that offer “ethical” options – make no effort to challenge this behaviour.
Responsibly-invested pension funds are already putting Wal-Mart under heavy pressure over its labour practices in the United States. In the UK, pension funds have successfully lobbied drug manufacturers to lower the cost of HIV treatments for southern Africa and persuaded companies to start tackling climate change.
Responsible investment is about using shareholder power to improve company behaviour, rather than avoiding certain industries, so it does not lower returns, and can improve financial performance by identifying the potential cost of corporate strategies that ignore legal, reputational and other risks”.
If you want an agenda and booking form contact Jayne Cranefield on 020 7467 1225 jcranefield@tuc.org.uk (normally a bit pricy – make sure that your pension fund or union pays). If you have a “funded” pension scheme (has actually investments rather than “pay as you go” UNISON and the TUC are running courses on pensions), check to see if you could be a member nominated trustee/representative. If you are already a trustee join the network
UPDATE: Download entry form from TUC
2 comments:
It as shame UNISON could not protect our pensions,
http://jonrogers1963.blogspot.com/2007/05/lgps-it-gets-worse.html#links
Hi Andrew
Sorry, but you and Jon are being a bit daft over this. Ok, you are perfectly entitled to criticise all the unions over the LGPS “deal” and negotiations. However, to say that UNISON “failed” to protect our pension is dangerous nonsense. The LGPS will remain a “Rolls Royce” pension scheme and be a huge benefit to our members. The new scheme has massive improvement for most (not all – including me!) members. However, I will agree that we must protect our schemes in the future. I have been a LGPS pension activist for over 11 years and during that time I have constantly tried to get activists interested in the scheme. Yet (with honourable exceptions) very few where interested. Thus employers were allowed to nearly bankrupt our scheme, by in many cases, having inadequate funding (gerrymanding) and rubbish governance. The TUC and UNISON are now trying to ensure that in the future we do not repeat the mistake of the past and protect our schemes. The biggest threat of course by far is the election of a Tory government who have promised to dismantle public sector FS pensions.
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