Wednesday, June 17, 2009

UNISON NDC defeats call for Nationalisation without Compensation



Composite I - Economic Crisis and Public Services amendment I.1

Conference, President, John Gray, London Region, Housing Association Branch speaking in favour of Composite I and against amendment I.1.

Conference this amendment may not be a wreaking amendment in the technical sense but if passed it would be an ugly sore on what is otherwise a very good composite.

I am not going to argue about whether of not the Banks should be nationalised. That is a separate question. Nor will I bring up Capital Stewardship issues on how we can properly exercise influence over them. What this amendment seeks to achieve is the nationalization of all the Banks without compensation.

Conference, we are the owners, we own big chunks of these banks even before the current crisis. Our savings which is invested in our pension funds, our life insurance policies, our co-op and mutual companies savings – are all heavily invested in the banks.

I am speaking as a UNISON LGPS scheme member for 18 years. I have been saving the equivalent of nearly 20% of my salary in it each year. My scheme and your schemes are heavily invested in Banks. My fund in Tower Hamlets is relatively small but it has over £16 million invested in Banks - never mind all the other related investments.

If you nationalise the Banks without compensation you in effect rob every single one of us. Arguably Pension schemes themselves would be under threat as well as insurance companies - mutual companies as well as privately run ones.

Conference I think it is known by those misfortune to know me that unlike some others I do not usually bring up the the Russian revolutionary leader - Lenin - but I understand that even he paid compensation to investors when he nationalised the Russian Banks. So conference for the first time in my life – I will say support Comrade Lenin and his actions and vote against this amendment.

(the amendment had a number of speakers against it and was overwhelmingly defeated)

2 comments:

Charlie Marks said...

It won't be the last time, either ;-)

John Gray said...

Hi Charlie

Yeah - we will defeat them time after time.