CWC engage with fund manager Blackrock on Labour Rights

 

A little late in the evening UK time but pleased to attend and ask a question. 

🌎 Last week, over 20 global asset owner representatives – with a combined AUM of nearly USD 1.8 trillion – engaged collectively with BlackRock to articulate their expectations around the managers’ approach to labour rights stewardship. This was the 5th annual CWC-convened meeting with asset owner clients of BlackRock from North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia – including representatives from CalPERS, London CIV, Cbus, and CCOO F.P. – whose actions seek to protect and enhance value for their beneficiaries.

📢 The asset owners acknowledged that despite the geopolitical environment and changes to its stewardship team, “company impacts on people” remains an engagement priority for BlackRock. However, the group voiced concerns around a narrow view of labour-related shareholder engagements as simply an exchange of information. If company engagements are not tied to specific objectives and outcomes, they risk becoming indefinite and inconsequential conversations, instead of critically assessing the success of programs that have been implemented by companies.

🎯 The group called on the world’s largest asset manager to explain how its company engagements evolve over time to deliver on its stewardship objectives and drive meaningful outcomes, particularly in relation to fundamental labour rights and the just transition.

The CWC’s Asset Manager Accountability Initiative aims to use the collective influence of asset owners to drive stewardship practices that protect workers and enhance long-term investor value.

hashtag#BlackRock hashtag#ResponsibleInvesting hashtag#WorkersRights 

Hat tip (1) Post | LinkedIn

LGPS Forum: Opportunity to participate in transnational Labour Rights Investor Network

 

(UNISON are supporting their members who are pension trustees/activists to join)

The Global Union’s Committee on Workers' Capital (CWC) is a network of pension trustees and staff dedicated to ensuring that employee retirement assets are invested responsibly. The CWC is initiating the Labor Rights Investor Network, a new investor education and exchange network that will offer resources and actionable information to help investors better engage portfolio companies on labor rights issues, including freedom of association, collective bargaining, and health & safety . We encourage you to follow the registration link below and join us to hear more about this exciting new initiative.

REGISTER HERE

Mikail Husain (he/him)

ESG Analyst | SOC Investment Group 

"Investors have three reasons to advance their stewardship of labour rights. First, labour rights are human rights and investors have responsibilities to respect these rights in their investment and stewardship decisions. Second, respect for labour rights enables investors to mitigate systemic and company-specific risks. And third, freedom of association and collective bargaining, along with other worker rights such as the right to a safe and healthy workplace, can improve corporate performance.

The Labour Rights Investors Network will provide investors with the actionable information they need to engage on labour issues, uphold their responsibilities to respect human rights, mitigate workplace risks, and drive stronger returns. An initiative of the Global Unions’ Committee on Workers’ Capital (CWC), the Network will offer events and resources, including regular opportunities for education and exchange on issues such as identifying labour risks, the impact of different legal contexts, and how stewardship can improve transparency and performance on freedom of association and collective bargaining. The Network will provide written resources, bring workers to share their experiences, and connect investors to experts in such areas as international labour standards, country-specific labour laws, and workplace health and safety.

Our first webinar will provide a selection of the types of content the Network will offer. You will hear from workers who have experienced labour risks firsthand, learn about one company’s approach to mitigating that risk, hear from an investor on why freedom of association is an important topic for stewardship, and have a chance to ask an international labour rights expert questions. We will present an overview of the network and what you can expect from joining.

We are hosting two sessions of this webinar and invite you to register for the session that best fits your time zone and schedule as both events will follow the same agenda. You are invited to join one of the following two options:

• Option 1 (Australia/North America): Wednesday November 15th at 3pm Eastern Standard Time / 12pm Pacific Time/ 9pm CEST | Thursday November 16th at 7:00am Australian Eastern Daylight Time. REGISTER HERE 
• Option 2 (Europe/North America): Monday November 20th at 3pm Central European Time / 9am Eastern Standard Time/ 6am Pacific Time. REGISTER HERE

Trustee workshop: How can pension funds advance the ‘S’ in ESG and raise labour standards?

 

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse disaster. Over 1100 workers died and many more injured. Register https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/trustee-workshop-how-can-pension-funds-advance-s-esg-and-raise-labour-standards

"The TUC and the Global Unions’ Committee on Workers’ Capital (CWC) are running a workshop for trustees of UK pension schemes on the social impact of investing.

This in-person event will be taking place in Congress House on the afternoon of 8th June, and will focus on how asset owners can engage with investee companies and asset managers to promote high labour standards.

Sessions will cover:

• The CWC Baseline Expectations for Asset Managers on Fundamental Labour Rights and how asset owners can use this tool to hold asset managers to account
• Good practices to enable UK-based asset owners to uphold responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights
• The work of the Trade Union Share Owners organisation to develop voting and engagement guidelines for trade union funds, and run targeted campaigns on poor employment practices
• The Taskforce on Social Factors launched by the government in February this year, and how asset owners can influence policy development

Agenda

13:30 - Introducing the ‘S’ in ESG 

14:05 - What are UK unions doing help asset owners raise labour standards? 

14:45 - Break

15:00 - Using the CWC Baseline Expectations to hold asset managers accountable on fundamental labour rights

16:00 - Wrap up/next steps

16:15 - Finish

Committee on Workers’ Capital - Mid Year Virtual Roundtable

CWC Mid-Year Virtual Roundtable

Between June 8-10th, 2021 the CWC will host two 90 minute virtual brainstorming events to engage with its global network.

We will review how leading asset owners are integrating labour rights at a time when regulatory contexts around sustainable finance are rapidly shifting.

Furthermore, we will report back on the CWC's engagement with BlackRock, upcoming meetings with SSGA and Macquarie and create a space for discussion around the CWC Asset Manager Accountability Initiative.

Finally, we will curate a discussion with the network around recent cases of engagements on worker rights in a) public equities, b) private markets and c) regulation.

Click here to register and to see the agenda

Session 1 will be organized for a North American/ European audience on June 8th at 7am PT| 10am ET| 3pm BST| 4pm CEST. 

Session 2 will be organized for a North American/Australian audience on June 9th at 4pm PT| 7pm ET | June 10th at 9am AEST. 

*Please note that the agenda for both sessions will be the same, participants are encouraged to register to one session that best suits their time zone. 

G

 

Committee Workers Capital (CWC) online Conference 2020 - The Road Ahead

 I logged on this evening to the first session of the Conference. The CWC describes itself on its website "WorkersCapital"   "With over 700 participants from 25 different countries, the Committee on Workers’ Capital is an international labour union network for dialogue and action on the responsible investment of workers capital. We connect labour activists and asset owner board members from around the world to promote information sharing and joint action in the field of workers’ capital. We are a joint initiative of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Global Unions Federations (GUFs) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC)".

I have been to physical meetings of its annual conference in London and Amsterdam in the past and always found them really interesting and useful. Obviously this year's setting it is very different.

The conference was opened by Tuur Elzinga, Vice-President and International Secretary of the Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions (FNV), Chair of the CWC.

Sessions start 4pm (Current UK time) and last 75 minutes. There are recordings available of each session. There are also 3 "Campaign Spotlights", an interactive space where CWC participants will showcase a priority initiative from their union.

you can register below

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cwc-2020-virtual-conference-tickets-123523793993

My question to session one panel "What does the panel think about pooled pension funds that refuse to allow asset owners to vote shares at AGMs in line with their ESG policies. Or is this only a British problem?" but panel ran out of time. 

16 Nov 

DAY 1: 4pm for 75 mins
How do asset managers view and incorporate worker-backed evidence in public equities?
This session will evaluate current practice and potential to improve how asset managers incorporate trade union and worker provided information in their evaluations of companies. (Chaired by Janet Williamson from TUC)

The first Campaign spotlight for today was by on UNICARE on the need for workers capital to take action over Covid 19 and nursing home deaths. A fascinating presentation which shows that "for profit" nursing homes suffer more deaths led by Adrian Durtschi, Head of UNICARE (Switzerland) and Lisa Nathan, Investor Engagement Advisor . Next spotlight was "Democratic Capital and workers voice" by Dr. Ewan McGaughey, King's College. A much needed argument to win a more accountable economy.

DAY 2: 4pm
Racial Justice and the stewardship of workers' capital
Global protests from the Black Lives Matter movement have brought attention to systemic racism in every corner of the economy. This session will begin with a panel of speakers, followed by a participant-led Q&A to share perspectives and strategies on how investors can approach the issue of racial justice.

DAY 3: 4pm
Tools and examples to hold asset managers accountable
This session will review recent tools and examples used by asset owners to hold their asset managers accountable on ESG issues, with a particular focus on the "S".

DAY 4: 4pm
Charting the Road Ahead: A strategic brainstorming session on CWC priorities for 2021
This interactive session will be an opportunity for participants to share their views on priorities for the 2020-2021 CWC workplan. What does a worker-centric agenda look like in this new context of a global health and social crisis? Discussion will be facilitated using a mix of discussion groups and open-ended discussion

We need transparency on charges

This is my latest opinion article for Professional Pensions magazine.

"John Gray asks why UK pension schemes do not have access to important information on charges.

Earlier this month I went to the CWC annual conference in Amsterdam. This was for trade union pension officers and trustees. It was hosted by the equivalent of the British TUC and naturally there was a strong presence at the conference of Dutch trustees who help manage €1.2trn (£0.97trn) in pension funds.

While I am sure the Dutch model is not perfect, there seemed to be far more trust and confidence in their pensions system than I have ever found in the UK.

It also reminded me of a presentation by David Pitt-Watson in 2010 called "How do you double the size of your pension? Go Dutch!" Even back then David argued that due to low charges and scale, the average Dutch pension was twice the size of the average UK pension for the same level of contributions.

In the UK we are finally beginning to address excessive (and largely hidden) charges and costs in our pension funds. The Bank of England chief economist and even the prime minster have recently attacked the financial services industry for a lack of transparency. Four years ago the Dutch government forced all pension funds to publish its real costs on administration, fund management and transactions. This has allowed funds to benchmark and has driven their costs even lower.

It is argued that in the UK costs are hidden in a complex and secret investment chain and are far higher than presented. Arguably, cost has a bigger impact on long-term performance than picking good active managers.

But when one of the pension funds I sit on in the UK as a trustee (Not LBTH) asked all of our fund managers for the same information on costs that are disclosed in the Netherlands, two of them said they were unable to provide this information.

Why not have this information?

Why is this information freely available to pension fund members in the Netherlands but not in the UK? Why do I not know the true costs of running my scheme? How do I judge if we are getting value for money? How do I know if we are being ripped off or not?

Would you as an individual buy any other product if you did not know what its cost is? Even worse, what would you think of any company if you find out it had 'misled' you on the cost of its product. Remember how angry people were and the financial impact on Volkswagen when it finally admitted it had fiddled its emissions levels.

How can I comply with my fiduciary duty as a trustee if I don't even know such basic bread and butter information? In the United States pension trustees have been sued for such failure.

There now seems to be some momentum. The £27bn Railways pension fund Railpen recently audited its true costs and now believes that it can save the fund a staggering £100m per year.

The Local Government Pension Scheme appears to be adopting the Dutch system. The Association of Member Nominated Trustees voted at their summer conference to work together with the Transparency Task Force to campaign on costs and charges.

This is not about bashing the financial services industry. I don't have a problem as a trustee with paying for good performance. But I do have a problem with not knowing what that performance costs. This lack of transparency must stop. We cannot allow things to continue. We must establish trust and confidence in our pensions. UK Pensions - tell us how much you cost.

(John Gray is a pension board member of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets though he writes here in a personal capacity)

Workers' Capital in the 21st Century: ShareAction Annual Lecture with Sharan Burrow

The keynote speaker at this years ShareAction annual lecture in the historic Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London was the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Sharan Burrow.  The ITUC is the global version of the British TUC.

Sharan give a well argued and passionate speech on "Workers Capital" (the pension investments and other savings of workers) and in favour of using it to support climate transition while respecting fossil fuel workers and their contribution to our prosperity.

She repeated her mantra that I first heard her say at the recent CWC meeting last month "there are no jobs in a dead planet".  While she welcomed the green "disinvestment warriors" present who would want pension funds to immediately pull out of investing in Carbon industries such as Coal and Oil, she did favour engagement with firms if they are willing to take part in transition. Some will earn our trust.

              

If companies refuse to change then we do have the powerful leverage of disinvestment by our pension funds. We are close to losing the Climate Change War and must act if our politicians fail to regulate.

Sharan praised the TUC for setting up "Trade Union Share Owners" where trade union staff pension funds collectively vote their share holding and she hoped other national unions would do the same. Also ShareAction for its success in furthering the Living Wage.  She thought that the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader was a great symbol of the possible. 

                         

Her closing remarks was the battle cry "Zero Carbon, Zero Poverty".

Next Speaker was Gail Cartmail from Unite, who spoke about role that unions can play by representing the interests of their members investments, Colin Meech from UNISON who talked about the need to control costs of our pension funds like they do in Holland, while Jeannie Drake reflected that many workers do not have unions in their workplace and have contract not trust based pensions, so how do we leverage their capital?

There was then a Q&A during which Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, asks whether there are civil Liberty groups present today and can we work together? I tried to ask a question but wasn't called on how trades unions generally will have to raise their game and give practical support and guidance to pension trustees if we want them to pursue a progressive agenda on climate change.                             

Catherine Howarth from ShareAction closed this successful event with a call for a legally binding "Charter of Rights" for investors and owners. 

"It's from workers and it should go back to workers"

Check out this post below by UNISON's head of bargaining and Campaigns in Scotland, Dave Watson, on the first day of the Workers Capital Conference which took place yesterday.

Also this YouTube video above by the ITF.

"Workers of the world unite to save your pensions!

Workers pensions across the world are facing similar challenges and we need to learn and act together.

I was at the 2015 Workers Capital Conference today, meeting with union pension negotiators and trustees from across the world. There is great best practice that we need to learn from, but also recognise that funds are invested internationally. We are investing in each other's communities and economies. Pension funds own half of the assets in the world and we should act collectively.

The first session looked at the role of trustees and shareholder activism.

The Californian teachers pension fund had some good advice for union pension trustees. They distilled these into seven effective ways of working.

• No place for fear. Don't be intimidated by the experts and hand over your fiduciary duty to the 'money people'.
• Stay curious. Be inquisitive and don't be afraid to ask questions.
• Be unwaveringly ethical. Remain true to those you represent. Without this funds are vulnerable to manipulation.
• Think objectively. Not enough to know what to do, be ready and willing to share views.
• Work hard. Read the materials, understand best practice. But recognise there is never enough time to do everything.
• Keep focused. Money managers are skilled at distracting trustees.
• Listen first. Speak less and listen more. Intervene at the right moment, don't just follow the money managers.

The Dutch pension fund ABP talked about shareholder activism. Examples included tackling poor labour conditions for textile workers in Bangladesh and Burma. Lack of safety standards and resolving the 'leukaemia dispute' at Samsung. Anti-union practices at Walmart. The latter resulted in four years of work before divesting. Their strategy involves intense dialogue, asking key questions and site visits. Sanctions included voted against directors remuneration and finally divestment, but only when all else fails. All of this is much more robust than the sort of ESG engagement advisors in Scotland pursue.

The U.S. Bakers union have a similar strategy through their capital stewardship programme. Part of their organising department because they see this work as building the union. Companies with good governance perform better, particularly those who treat their workforce fairly. They work with other funds collaboratively to target specific issues and sectors, particularly retail companies. An example of their engagement was the retail firm GAP, promoting a living wage and a good jobs strategy.

While there were different views on priorities, there were some common issues. Infrastructure investment to boost the economy (but not PPP), climate change and workers rights are probably the three main ones and there was support for some broad common goals. Pension funds are long term investors and there was an interesting debate about the pace of change funds should expect from the companies they invest in. Fiduciary duty shouldn't be a barrier to achieving common union goals.

The second session looked at pension fund management and transaction costs. The best approach is the Dutch model who have a level of understanding and transparency that we should aim for. Scottish funds have very little grasp of the true transaction costs of their equity investments. The Dutch now have legislation regulating this approach and this includes an asset management contract that is reducing costs.

Unsurprisingly, commercial asset managers in the UK resist this approach - even those who can do it in The Netherlands, because they have to! There is no good reason for telling us what something costs - if they can't tell you don't buy their services!

We probably only know about one third of the real costs. They are much higher than we think, probably three times higher at least. This matters when pension funds are under financial pressure. When resources are tight we should look closely at costs. It is also a fiduciary duty on trustees to know the true costs of their scheme, so they save contributions, not pay for profits.

Cutting costs is best done by bringing services in house. The top performing LGPS schemes in the UK are largely delivered by in house teams, cutting out the rent seekers. Active fund management is an illusion to fool us into trading that makes huge profits for the asset managers and hedge funds. It was interesting to hear that even New York public pension funds are coming to the same conclusion about active fund management.

The lessons for Scotland are that we should introduce systems that make real costs transparent, bring services in house, and largely get out of active fund management. Another lesson is that size matters and we should pool assets.

A lot of these issues appear complex to the average union trustee. But the value of today's conference is the sharing of information and developing common approaches. There are few more important issues than our member's pensions and there is much to do".

Workers' Capital Conference 2015

Yesterday was the first day of the 2015 Workers' Capital Conference, which this year is being held in London and hosted by the International Transport Federation (ITF). This global conference of union pension activists was organised by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Trade Union advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) and the Global Unions Federation (GUFs).

I was there as a UNISON trade union pension trustee alongside a number of our lay activists and national officers (see picture right).

This annual conference is the international forum for trade union and pension fund trustees on the stewardship of workers retirement funds. Trade union trustees sit on the boards of pension funds worth in total $32 trillion (I think this is $32,000,000,000,000!). Which is an eye watering amount of money and a huge responsibility.  The aim of the conference is to promote decent work, a sustainable future and secure retirement for workers.

It is great not only to meet and share knowledge with trustees from all over the world but also it is an opportunity for trade unionists to do what they do best - work collectively in the interests of all our members.

The conference theme is "Pressing forward: Putting the Workers Capital Agenda to Action".

You can check out my tweets on the first day of conference here https://twitter.com/grayee. I will post further on the conference which ends today.

Committee on Workers Capital - Global Proxy Review 2014

Check out this report published last week by the Committee on Workers Capital (CWC). 

The CWC has "over 200 members from 25 different countries, the CWC connects labour union organizations around the world to advance the responsible investment agenda on the global stage". 

The Global Proxy Review  takes an international view on the way fund managers vote the shares they hold and manage on behalf of workers pensions funds at Company AGMs. Use this information to hold fund managers to account for the way they vote on important environmental, social and governance issues (ESG).

Defending pensions in the recession

Check out the official UNISON take on the CWC seminar in the E-Focus newsletter and link to here. The “Universal Owner” argument on which UNISON made a presentation during the seminar is really powerful and persuasive. In a nutshell this theory reminds pension funds that they not only won shares in companies and sector’s but they own the economy as a whole.

If for example they invest in a company that makes excess profits by damaging the environment with carbon pollution than this will be at the cost of the value of all its other investments in companies who will suffer financially from adverse climate change.

To save our pensions we need to think outside the box. Now more than ever.

Makes sense to me.

Independent Board Directors to save the World? CWC Amsterdam 2009

I am just back this evening from attending a one day Pension workshop organised by the Committee for Workers Capital (CWC).

This took place in the headquarters of the FNV in Amsterdam. The FNV is the Dutch equivalent of the British TUC. The CWC is an international pension activist organisation (and “think tank”) which brings together trade union pension trustees from all over the world.

UNISON had the largest delegation present. There were also British trade union trustees from Unite and the TUC. Others present were from Canada, Netherlands, France, Spain and Denmark. There is usually a wider international presence but later next month there is a big CWC meeting in Australia.

There was some pretty heavy weight presentations. The meeting kicked off with introduction by Ken Georgetti (President - CLC, Chair CWC) then “The G20 London Summit: Headway on financial market regulation? A trade union perspective” (Pierre Habbard - TUAC); Financial Market Regulation: Opportunities and Challenges (Ieke van den Burg - MEP & APG Trustee) and our Janet Williamson (Senior Policy Officer – TUC); Universal Ownership – Fiduciary policies for a New Era (by our Colin Meech and Ben Rudder - UNISON Capital Stewardship programme); Pension investment policies: Is there a need to change in the light of the new economic reality? (Roderick Munster CIO – ABP/AGP) and How do Pension Funds recover? (Niels Kortlever – PGGM).

I will post another time on the various presentations and panel’s discussions which were all very interesting and thought provoking (I am mind way behind on posting things). But one of the most important issues I thought that we discussed today and last night in our informal dinner (thanks to David Levi from “Growth Works”) was the imperative to have proper independent directors on company boards. Particularly in the financial sector.

If we are really serious about avoiding the disasters of recent times. These directors would be representatives of the real owners (us) and not part of the city mafia. They could have a background in trade unions, works councils, retail, local authorities or consumer protection - whatever. They would ask the common sense “What if “questions that the so-called professionals consistently fail to ask in crisis after crisis after financial crisis. In the UK we have in theory AGM votes on company boards. To make this real, not make believe, require that those who hold shares on behalf of collective investments have to consult the real owners on how to vote? Better regulation is not enough – remember that the best people to look after money – own it.

Just an idea to help our Gordon really save the world.

(the UNISON A team L to R - Peter Gaskin, youknowyou, Phillip Foster, Olga Kokkinnis, Richard Yard - photo taken by UNISON staff trustee Jon Dunn))

Burma Campaign – Committee for Workers Capital

The only session I managed to attend at this year's meeting of International Union Pension trustees (last week), was the opening introductions and then the discussion over Burma.

The meeting was chaired by John Maitland, from the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Rob Lake, head of sustainability at the Dutch pension group APG and Jo Allen, head of SRI engagement and responsible investment for CIS (Co-op) gave a hard headed presentation on investment in Burma.

They both basically argued that you still needed to pursue engagement policies with companies such as Total who trade with Burma. On balance they do more good than harm by being there and if they were to go, they would be replaced with companies who will not challenge the regime at all and would make things worse for their workers. Surprisingly this view was somewhat supported by black South African delegates present, in light of their experiences during the battle against Apartheid. Unsurprisingly, French delegates also supported Total and said more time should be given for engagement.

An American colleague made it clear that this was a trade union meeting of trustees and the international trade union movement had made it clear that they support disinvestment. We should show solidarity with the Burmese democratically elected government (now repressed by the military junta) and the exiled trade union movement who call for such action.

I suggested that the time for engagement was now over. Engagement had been going on for decades and that it had not worked. At some point you have to disinvest otherwise you run the risk of undermining the argument for engagement. This is the exception that proves the rule. Of course, arguing for disinvestment in a particular country due to its regime is different than arguing for disinvestment in a particular company. You still have to have pretty good evidence that the investment is likely to backfire and damage the pension fund to satisfy the fiduciary rules.

However, I think on balance that in Burma you can argue this. The worse news was that a brand new off shore gas field and pipe line is being considered. South Korean companies are thought to be involved. If built this would not only generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the military regime in taxes, kick backs etc but also would involve forced labour and driving Burmese people off their land as happened in previous pip eland construction projects.

It was a pity I missed the meeting the following day with the Burmese Campaign UK.

Also present was top UNISON rep Mark Rayner, who is a member nominated representative on the Greater Manchester LGPS with Donald McDonald who is a BT pension trustee and Chair of the UN PRI (United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment). Mark promised me to make a guest post on what happened during the rest of the meeting.

This is what the UNISON website says about Burma investments

Your pension fund can help the Burmese people

(06/12/07) Do you contribute to your employer's pension fund? If you do then you will be able to take part in a global campaign to help the Burmese people achieve democracy.

Your pension fund may have shares in companies that trade with the military dictatorship. The Burmese trade unions want you to tell your fund trustees or reps to stop investing in companies that trade with Burma.

UNISON is supporting a call for trade union members across the world to get involved. And this is how you can do it.

Write or send an email to your pension fund administrator - go to your employer's web site to find out who this is or ask your UNISON branch if they know.You should ask your pension fund board of trustees or pension committee to request that they or your investment managers report to you on:

what shares the fund holds in companies with ties to Burma

their assessment of the financial, legal and political risks this may pose to your savings and the reputation of the fund

their strategy for addressing such risks

Remember, your pension fund is your savings. You have a right to know how this money is invested, and a right to ask if investing in companies that make money from a military dictatorship is putting your savings at risk.

Since 2000, the international trade union movement has called on all companies with business links in Burma to sever those links and withdraw from the country.

In October 2007, the International Trade Union Confederation asked its affiliated organisations to engage in a shareholders' campaign which may include disinvestment from companies linked with Burma.

This position supports that of Burma's democratically-elected ruler, Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the Federation of Trade Unions-Burma, which operates clandestinely inside and outside the country.

Foreign companies play a pivotal role in maintaining a steady flow of capital to the military dictatorship, and by extension, in upholding the country's brutal regime.Military rule and repression has led to massive and systematic violations of human and workers' rights.

In particular, the military regime oppresses and exploits its population through the widespread use of forced and compulsory labour.

Union Trustees take on Global Capitalism

Okay, okay, Tom P and I are trying to use the most attention seeking headlines possible in order to publicise the meeting of the "Fourth International" of lead union trustees that will take place in London on 8th-10th July.

I was lucky enough to go to last year’s conference in Geneva, Switzerland at the ILO (see picture of participants above). It was an excellent and inspiring event and I hope that as many trade union pension reps as possible can participate in this years event.

It seems that the possible British Local Government strike over pay will not take place that week, but the week after.

This is from the TUC press release. “The event is being organized by the Global Unions Committee on Workers' Capital (CWC - www.workerscapital.org) to facilitate international dialogue and information exchange between union trustees.

Key themes for discussion include the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, Burma, private equity, labour issues in an investment context, and capital stewardship campaigns. The July 9 meeting will be chaired by John Maitland (ACTU, Australia) and hosted by the TUC. On July 10, trustees will be meeting with a number of London-based campaigning, corporate social responsibility and investment organisations.

If you would like to attend, please let the CWC Secretariat know by emailing workercapital@share.ca Attendance is free, but please note that CWC is unable to assist with travel or accommodation costs for the meeting”.

The New Internationalist Capitalists

Back this morning from annual meeting of the “Committee on Workers Capital” (CWC) held in the International Labour Organisation’s headquarters (ILO) in Geneva. A superb one

day conference for international labour movement activists, who are involved on workers capital issues.

The chair of CWC is Ken Georgetti, who is President of the Canadian Labour Congress. Canada seems to be taking the lead on worker’s capital. John Maitland, from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) chaired the actual meeting.

There were nearly 40 participants from all round the world. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Iceland (who was also an MP), UK and USA. I went to the meeting in London in 2005 and there was probably nearly twice as many people present this year as then. From UNISON there was also national officer for Capital Stewardship, Colin Meech, and from the TUC senior Policy Officer, Janet Williamson. Janet gave two presentations on the TUC response to Private Equity in the UK. Also present was David Russell from the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and Donald McDonald who is a BT pension scheme trustee (and Chair of PRI).

Some of the pension schemes represented even dwarfed the £125 billion invested (collectively) in the British local government pension scheme (LGPS).

Check out the CWC link for the full picture on the Labour movement and investments (I’ll do a further post on this issue later). The themes for this year meeting were a “Trustees approach to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment “ (PRI - we must get all British schemes to sign up to this campaign). There was than a lot of good stuff on trade union approaches and initiatives on Private Equity (PE); assessing its risk and market distortions, making PE work for us, and PE “due diligence”. There was a very wide ranging discussion. Finishing off with debate on common problems and issues.

Potentially one of the most significant things that the CWC does is to operate a “clearing house” for international trade unions to post requests for assistance or information about international companies who are operating in their country. Recently we had a fairly successful campaign in the UK by the T&G and the Teamsters to try and persuade First Group not to practice anti-trade union activities in the US.

It was good to meet Mike Musuraca from the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS). He is also an official with the American Public sector union (AFSCME). They appear to be far more proactive with their pension fund than we are in London with the LGPS. It would be good to keep in contact so we can get share some ideas.