LGPS Pension Boards: Model UNISON Magna Carta

There are about 4.6 million people in the UK who are members (active, deferred or retired) of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Collectively it is the 5th biggest pension fund in the world and worth around £180 billion. It is of huge importance to the UK economy.

From the 1 April 2015 each LGPS will have to by law set up a local Pension Board. The statutory role of the Boards is to advise and assist the fund to make decisions on all matters. We are still waiting for the final government regulations to be signed off by the Minister and laid before Parliament.

While I think that the Government has messed up over reform of the LGPS. Pension Boards will be good for the funds providing they are allowed to do their job properly and genuinely involve beneficiaries in the running of their funds.

Unless we improve performance and cut costs, due to the 13% employer contribution cap on future accrual (new pensionable service) the whole future of the LGPS will be put in peril.

UNISON has put together a model constitution for the Pension Boards (see below) which has been sent to all LGPS funds. This has already been adopted by all the Scottish LGPS funds.

I would recommend that every LGPS sets up a working group with UNISON and the other local government unions on how to make their local pension board work.

UNISON Model LGPS Pension Board Model Constitution

"1.    Introduction

1.1       Each Local Government Pension Scheme Manager in England and Wales is required to establish a Pensions Board separate from the .............................. Pensions Committee that acts as the Scheme Manager.

1.2       The .......................................................... (name of fund) Pension Board is established under the provisions of the ................................................. Regulations 2015.

2.    Objectives

2.1         The Pension Board is the body responsible for assisting the Scheme Manager in relation to compliance with scheme regulations and the requirements of the Pensions Regulator and any other relevant legislation.

2.2       The Pension Board will determine the areas they wish to consider including, amongst others:

• Reports produced for the pensions committee
• Seek reports from the scheme managers on any aspect of the fund
• Monitor investments and the investment principles/strategy/guidance
• Monitor fund investment and custodian transaction costs
• The fund annual report
• External voting and engagement provisions
• Fund administrative performance
• Actuarial reports and valuations
• Funding policy

·         Any other matters that the pensions board deem appropriate

3.    Membership

3.1       Membership of the Pension Board will consist of equal numbers of trade union representatives and employer representatives, drawn from councils and scheduled or admitted bodies in membership of the fund.  Pension Board representatives must not also participate in or act as members of the pensions committee.  Local Authority employer representatives will normally be Elected Members serving as part of the Council.

(As a minimum there will be 4 trade union and 4 employer representatives with the expectation that larger funds will require greater numbers. Numbers from organisations on either side will broadly reflect respective membership in the scheme.)

3.2       There will be ............. (number) trade union representatives appointed by the trade unions as follows:

UNISON         .......

GMB               .......

Unite                .......

3.3       There will be .............. (number) employer representatives appointed by the respective employer organisations as follows:

Councils                      ......

Scheduled bodies       ......

Admitted bodies          ......

(In smaller funds it may be possible to name the councils and other bodies. In larger funds describe the way representatives of these groups are appointed e.g. at the pension fund annual meeting)

3.4       Pension Board representatives will serve for a period of four years and may be reappointed to serve further terms. Timescales for organisations to notify the Pension Board of their representatives shall be locally determined.  Employer bodies and organisations retain the right to withdraw representatives and identify replacements on occasion.

3.5       Appointing bodies can appoint a named substitute for their representative. Such substitutes must undertake the same training as set out in (6) below.

3.6       Advisors may attend meetings of the Pension Board in a non-voting capacity.

3.7       No person may be appointed to the Pension Board that has a significant conflict of interest. A conflict of interest is defined as a financial or other interest which is likely to prejudice a person’s exercise of functions as a member of the Pension Board. It does not include a financial or other interest arising merely by virtue of that person being a member of the scheme or any connected scheme for which the board is established. The Pension Board will adopt policies and protocols for handling any conflicts that were unanticipated and might arise during membership.

4.    Meetings

4.1       The Chair of the Pension Board will be rotated on an annual basis between the trade union and employer sides of the Pension Board.

4.2       Pensions Board meetings will be administered by ................. (pension fund or administering authority depending on local practice) as agreed with Joint Secretaries appointed by the trade union and employers sides of the Pension Board. All reasonable administration costs shall be met by the fund.

4.3       The Pensions Board should meet at least quarterly. A majority of either side may requisition a special meeting of the Pension Board in exceptional circumstances.

4.4       The Pensions Board may establish sub-committees.

4.5       While the statutory roles and function of the pension committee and pensions board are separate, the normal practice will be that both bodies will meet at the same time to consider the same agenda, with the Chair of the pension committee chairing the concurrent meeting. The aim is to engender a positive and proactive partnership culture where in practice the two bodies act as one.

5.    Dispute resolution

5.1       If the Pension Committee and Pension Board cannot reach joint agreement on any matter the process for resolving any differences between the two bodies will be as follows.  Whilst this process is undertaken the decision of the Pension Committee is still competent.

5.2       In the first instance, if at least half of the members agree, then the pension board can refer back a decision of the pensions committee for further consideration if any of the following grounds are met:

• That there is evidence or information which it is considered needs re-evaluating or new evidence or data which the Pensions Committee did not access or was not aware of at the point of decision making and which is considered material to the decision taken;
• That the decision of the Pensions Committee could be considered illegal or contrary to regulations;
• That the decision of the Pensions Committee is contrary to a relevant Code of Practice published by the Pensions Regulator; or
• That the decision is not in the interest of the continued financial viability of the Scheme or is against the principles of proper and responsible administration of the Scheme

5.3       If there is no agreement after the matter has been referred back to the pensions Committee, then the difference in view between the Pension Board and the Pension Committee will be published in the form of a joint secretarial report on the fund website and included in the fund annual report.

5.4       The England/Wales LGPS Scheme Advisory Board may also consider and take a view on the matter and, if considered appropriate, provide advice to the Scheme Manager or the pension board in relation to the matter.

6.    Training

6.1          All members (and named substitutes) of the Pensions Board must undertake a training programme in accordance with any guidance issued by the pensions regulator and complying with best practice training requirements of the Pensions Committee.

6.2       The Pensions Board shall agree policies and arrangements for the acquisition and retention of knowledge and understanding for pension board members

6.3       The Scheme Manager will keep an updated list of the documents with which they consider pension board members need to be conversant to effectively carry out their role and make sure

that both the list and the documents are accessible.

7.    Access to Information

7.1       The Scheme Manager and Pensions Board will together ensure that information is published about the activities of the board including:

• the full terms of reference for the pension board, including details of how they will operate

• the pension board appointment process

• who each individual pension board member represents and

• any specific roles and responsibilities of individual pension board members.

7.2       The minutes of the Pension Board will be published on the fund website. The Pensions Board may undertake such communications and stakeholder engagement as it deems appropriate to perform its functions.

Brain washed morons pretending they are doing God's work.

"We stand in solidarity with France against this evil attack by terrorists intent on attacking our democratic way of life & freedom of speech". Well said Ed (Miliband).

 "Fanaticism is a monster that pretends to be the child of religion" Voltaire

West Ham Labour January update - General Election just 120 days away (& debate on Syria)

"Happy 2015... It's only seven days into the new year and already voters can't have failed to notice there's a General Election coming.

The Tories have already published a false dossier on Labour's plans and the NHS is in crisis.

General Election 2015
We've got 120 days to get a Labour government elected. It's a battle we need to win seat by seat. West Ham is working to turn Ilford North from Conservative to Labour by getting Labour's Wes Streeting elected as the new MP.

Please come and help Labour win in May (and we'll help you if you've not done it before) by joining us talking to voters in Ilford North..

We're meeting this Saturday 10 January outside Stratford station at 1.30pm (or at Fairlop station at 2pm). For more info contact Julianne.

We'll also be helping Ilford North:
24 January at Statford station at 1.30pm (or 2pm at Fairlop)
14 February at Stratford station at 1.30pm (or 2pm at Fairlop)
28 February at Statford station at 1.30pm (for 2pm at Fairlop)

All members meeting (GC) on 22 January - Syria 
We've got a great speaker - the former British Ambassador to Syria, Basil Eastwood who will be giving us the background to the current Syrian conflict. We will be asking ourselves, four years into the bloody civil war, what hope ahead for Syrians? And how can the UK help? All members are very welcome.

Meeting starts at 7.30pm at 306 High St, Stratford, E15 1AJ And thank you to everyone who came to our Christmas social and quiz. We had a great time and also raised some much needed money for the election campaign.

Best wishes Julianne Marriott (West Ham CLP Vice Chair)"

Fat Cat Tuesday

Today 6 January is "Fat Cat Tuesday" By only the 2nd working day of the first month of the year, the average CEO of a FTSE 100 company will have received more pay that the average UK worker will earn in the entire year.

Check out TUC press release

"TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It’s a stark reminder that while the average worker is £50 a week worse off than in 2010, boardroom pay gets bigger and bigger every year.

“We urgently need a change of course to put wage growth for all workers at the heart of Britain’s economic plan – if not then people’s living standards will not recover and the economy will remain in the danger zone.”

also hat tip High pay centre

NEC Elections 2015: Community General Seat & Female Seat Nomination Request

I posted last week that this is the Labour movement election season with my election address for the UNISON Greater London Regional Finance Convenor position. Yesterday evening I send out nomination requests for the UNISON NEC elections (see below). I am standing with June Poole from Rochdale LG branch for the two Community National Executive Council seats.

Picture above is from last years UNISON National Delegate conference of the current NEC. The NEC is the lay Parliament of our 1.3 Million members.  I was there for conference but missed the photo-shoot. While I don't agree with everyone on the NEC there are many really fantastic and dedicated rank and file activists on it who the whole union should be really proud of.

"Dear Branch Secretary
Your branch is entitled to nominate candidates to the two Community seats for this year’s National Executive Council elections. We request that your branch considers nominating John Gray for the General Seat and June Poole for the Female seat.

John is currently the Community NEC General seat representative and has been an activist in UNISON for many years and held a number of branch and regional positions including Treasurer, Health & Safety, Welfare, Labour Link, International officer and Assistant Secretary. He works as a Housing officer and is the Branch Secretary of the Greater London Housing Associations Branch which has over 3000 Community members.

June has held the Low Paid Women’s Seat on the Community Service Group Executive. She has also been a longstanding UNISON activist holding positions of Steward, Health and Safety rep and Assistant Branch Secretary with Rochdale Local Government branch. She is active in Women’s’ and Disabled Members SOGs at both regional and national level and is Vice Chair of UNISON Welfare. June works as a course administrator for a training organisation

John has served the union as a NEC member on the Policy and Development Committee, Trustee on the UNISON staff pension fund and National Labour link. June is a trustee of the UNISON “there for you” (Welfare) fund Committee and Vice Chair of the UNISON Community Service Group Executive.

Protecting Jobs, Terms & Conditions
Community members are facing amongst the very worse cuts in jobs and attacks on their pay, pensions, terms and conditions by this Tory led Government.
Care and support staff wages in particular are under threat as unscrupulous employers deliberately underbid to win Supporting People contracts then try and do their upmost to destroy TUPE protections.

We deserve a Pay Rise
While many Housing management organisations are cash rich after years of inflation plus rent rises yet still refuse to give their staff decent pay rises.

Both of us as NEC and SGE members have been working and campaigning with branches and regions to oppose these measures. We believe that Community members must play our part in opposing Austerity and arguing for an alternative economic policy regardless of who wins the General election in May.

We also believe that there are a number of Community specific campaigns that UNISON should be pursuing such as:-

Sector Wage Councils. Set up to decide the pay and conditions of all staff by collective bargaining including a living wage minimum for all Community workers and agency/sub-contractors.
Better governance and democracy. Increasingly many of our employer management boards are run by highly paid unelected and unrepresentative “elites”. There should be union employee representation on all Community Trust or management boards, especially remuneration committees (if applicable)
Defend Pensions. Protect the Social Housing Pension fund and the Pension Trust from further cuts.
Access to a decent defined benefit pension scheme for all.
Recruit & train more activists to support members
No public money for “union busters”. Any employer that does not have a trade union recognition agreement should be barred from grants or contracts from local or national governments.

We believe that we would both work together well as your Community NEC team. While June’s employer is a small voluntary organisation, John’s works for a large housing association, so we represent and complement both of the major sectors in Community.

If you would like either of us to come and attend a branch meeting or Hustings (under UNISON election rules) then please let us know and if we can, we will be delighted to come and speak.

Yours faithfully
June Poole RMS 887689
& John Gray RMS 3083288

Learning & Organising in Greater London UNISON 2015 (defend members & fight union busters)

If you are a London UNISON activist then download our training programme and application form for 2015 courses. I will be applying to go on the refresher steward course this year (under the Employment Rights Act unions are obligated to make sure that their stewards are "competent" - so UNISON runs special refreshers for experienced stewards).

As well as introductory trade union and health & safety courses there are others on team negotiating, TUPE, sickness & capability procedures, local negotiating & representation, dealing with reorganisation and redundancy at work, bullying & harassment, employment law update,  IT, discipline & grievances hearings, equality duties, stress in the workplace, chairing meetings and race/sex discrimination.

Our respected trade union education programmes for stewards, safety reps and activists is one of the main reasons why anti-trade union rogue employers (such Ealing based  Catalyst Housing Association) are Union Busters. If they de-recognise a trade union then union reps are not allowed time off to go on union courses on how to effectively represent their members.

This means that employees will not have trained local reps to represent them in discipline, sickness and grievances hearings but also employers will also be able to carry out whatever restructures, job revaluations and redundancies they want without collective bargaining.

The best people to represent staff and establish good industrial relations with management in the workplace are elected trained trade union stewards and safety reps who work for the employer supported by the unions full time officials.

It is a more than a shame that some senior managers don't understand this and prefer instead to breach human rights and practice anti-democratic American style union busting. In this country the wider Labour movement will never accept this and will defend collective bargaining and do whatever it takes to oppose union busters.

Why I like to pay taxes....

Love it. Hat tip the USA coffee movement. Maybe we should form something similar across the pond to counter the uber right wing Tories or their Kipper cousins.

Why is Housing the dog that never has its political day?

It was pretty depressing to read "Inside Housing" last week and see that housing is not in the voters top 10 priorities for the general election.

For someone who works in social housing and whose case work as a Councillor is mainly about overcrowding or homelessness, it seems very strange that "housing" is not a top election issue.

This is not just a "London thing". I'm now back from seasonable breaks in North Wales and Lincolnshire where both my sisters have a mid 20's adult "child" living with them because it is too expensive to rent or buy. Another nephew in Ipswich is also still at home saving up to buy aged 30.

So why is there this apparent lack of political interest?

There is an argument that if you are adequately housed then its "I'm all right Jack" and you are simply not that interested in homelessness or poor quality housing.

I'm sure that this is true for some but I think that the deeper real problem is that people no longer believe it is the role of the state to ensure that its people are adequately housed in secure, decent and affordable homes.  Instead housing is treated differently than say the NHS and seen by many as the responsibility of individuals and families.

This is a political problem but a problem that will be eventually fixed. See the chart above (double click to bring up details) which I think illustrates the scale of the housing crisis and how we are in a bubble that will eventually burst.

Since 1969 the supply of housing has crashed. In particular the supply of council housing. Neither private builders nor Housing Associations have taken up the slack. At the same time the price of housing has gone up and up. This cannot continue and something has got to give. Once this bubble has burst housing will become a political priority again. The role of councils is tackling this crisis will be critical.

We have to increase the supply of housing that people can afford and we have to control rents. To increase the supply of truly affordable housing somebody will have to subsidise it. Cross subsidy, freeing public and private land banks and allowing greater freedom to borrow is all well and good. We should not fool anyone that the scale of the crisis is such that it will need money. That money will have to come from the state as it takes up its traditional role again to make sure its people are decently housed. 

 Hat tip IPIN for chart.

Sign me up as a Labour supporter...fight the General Election (and pick the next London Mayor)

There is only 4 months and 5 days to go until the General Election. So this is going to be a busy, busy time for me and other Labour activists.

Part of my job as West Ham Labour agent and Chair of London UNISON Labour Link will be to encourage Labour Supporters to get involved and become active.

There are more UNISON members who voluntarily pay the Labour Party political levy in London than there are Labour Party members in the Capital. 

The National Party is finally implementing the Collins Report reforms and has set up this website for Labour Party supporters to register. The primary purpose of this website (and postcard campaign) should be to encourage affiliates and supporters to take part in the election.  Immediately after the election, there will be a selection process to pick the Labour candidate to be the next London Mayor.

UNISON should be ahead of all the major trade union affiliates since we already have separate  Labour Party and General political funds (members can chose which one or none). So we only need a signature for our Labour Link affiliates.

So I hope and expect that UNISON will be busy promoting and signing up our members to be Labour activists in the forthcoming election, help elect a Labour Government and then get these members involved in the primary for London Mayor.

So if you are a UNISON member and pay the Labour Party levy (also known as Applied Political Fund - APF) but haven't signed up yet as a supporter then click on this link.

Happy New Year 2015 - Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

Picture of Bardsey, the Island of 20,000 Saints, Llyn Peninsular, New Years Day 2011