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Trade union UNISON urges council to divest pension fund from links to Gaza occupation 

Tower Hamlets’ largest trade union suspects its pension fund supports companies linked to the Israeli government’s occupation of Gaza, and is calling on the council for transparency and divestment

The Tower Hamlets branch of UNISON is campaigning for the council to disclose and divest from potentially unethical investments being made into the Tower Hamlets Local Government Pension Scheme (THLGPS). 

They are concerned primarily that the pension fund could be supporting companies linked to the Israeli government’s occupation of Gaza and are also asking for divestment from fossil fuels. 

UNISON members protested on the front steps of the town hall as part of the Tower Hamlets Coalition for Ethical Investment (THCEP) and later addressed their concerns directly to the Pension Committee on September 30. 

Their concerns follow an investigation by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign into Local Government Pension Funds (LGPS), which identified investments by councils across the UK of more than £2 billion into companies deemed complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine, including some blacklisted by the United Nations. 

‘One of the benefits of working in local government is that at the end of our working lives, we have access to a really decent occupational pension,’ said UNISON Tower Hamlets Branch Secretary Kerie Anne to the Pension Committee. ‘But nobody wants to live off of dirty money, blood money, money made from companies involved with or profiting from human rights abuses and planet destruction.’ 

The Tower Hamlets local government pension fund is managed by the London Common Investment vehicle, which manages investments for all London councils. 

The exact companies in which THLGPS invests are not disclosed by the Council. As a result, the THCEP is asking for transparency on the pension fund’s investments, with the assumption that some complicit companies will be on the list. 

UNISON trade members mostly work for government services like the council, local schools, and local hospitals, and as a result, the majority of the Tower Hamlets branch’s 3,000+ members will be eligible for the THLGPS. 

UNISON members were told by the Pension Committee that they would receive a written response to their concerns, but were not told by when. They have received no other feedback from the Committee since. 

The coalition has asked specifically for the THLGPS to divest from companies on the United Nations list of Companies linked to Illegal Settlement in the Occupied West Bank, on the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) list as well as any that ‘manufacture/supply weapons and military technology to the Israeli government used in violations of international law.’

They have also asked THLGPS to divest from any companies ‘involved with/profit from the exploration and/or mining/or processing of oil, coal and gas’.

The coalition, which was formed in September, comprises UNISON, Tower Hamlets Trade Union Council, the Tower Hamlets Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and the Jenin Friendship Association. Following the protest, the coalition will plan a letter-writing campaign to the council. 

Branch Secretary Anne said: ‘We appreciate that this can’t happen overnight, but with a process of identifying and divesting over a period of time we can reach those goals.’ She added: ‘If you dedicate your life to the public, you don’t want your pension pot invested in death and destruction.’

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