The UK’s largest trade union has weighed in on a call for ethical Isle of Wight Council pension fund investments following disquiet over the finances being “potentially complicit” in “Israeli war crimes”.
Mark Chiverton, branch secretary of Isle of Wight UNISON, told pension fund committee (PFC) councillors yesterday there was a “deep desire” for a motion “along the lines” of Cllr Chris Jarman’s tabled ethical investment plea to be passed “without further delay”.
Cllr Jarman’s proposal is for PFC to ‘strongly urge’ fund managers ‘to avoid any direct or indirect investment which may or may be seen to be supporting or enabling the continuing genocide in Gaza’.
However, later in yesterday’s PFC meeting, Conservative councillor for Haylands and Swanmore, Vanessa Churchman, said:
“I would just like to make the point to the people up in the gallery: as a pensions committee, our fiduciary duty is to existing and past pensioners and as a committee we are legally not allowed to make political decisions.
“Everybody here appals what is going on (in Gaza) without exception,” she added.
Cllr Jarman’s submission also says PFC should ‘write to the relevant national pension oversight bodies and the UK Government urging them to support ethical investment standards across all Local Government Pension Scheme funds’.
A vote on the motion was delayed yesterday after County Hall’s chief financial officer, Chris Ward, raised concern over related, unseen legal advice.
“As the largest trade union in local government…(UNISON has) a very clear policy setting out its opposition to a whole range and raft of policies undertaken by Israel over a number of years in terms of the displacement of Palestinians both in Gaza, on the West Bank and in other illegally occupied Palestinian territories.
“I just wanted to be absolutely sure that you as a committee…are aware of the deep support of the local branch of that national UNISON policy.”
Later in the meeting, another UNISON representative and a non-voting member of PFC,
“I represent the (Local Government Pension) Scheme members…their pensions are not affected by the investment outcomes – they will get the money they are due no matter what.
“I don’t think they would want their pension fund monies invested in those that are profiting from war, and I think this is a very welcome motion.
“There are 60,000 people killed in this war now – it’s a bit of a one-side war – children, doctors, nurses, men, women and children, journalists, people just queuing for food.”
PFC requested a meeting be scheduled in two weeks’ time for a deferred vote on the motion.