- Conference
- 2008 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 11 February 2008
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that the pension funds of UNISON members, particularly those in Local Government and Higher Education are increasingly invested in companies and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects that deliver public services under a contract to a public body. Many of these companies employ UNISON members working on such contracts.
Because of such pension fund investment it is now common for a UNISON member to effectively be a shareowner through pension fund investment of a company that they have been TUPE transferred to, particularly in Local Government.
Furthermore, some of the earliest investors in PFI funds have been UK local authority pension funds. Local authorities have been in a privileged position to judge the investment potential of PFI projects as they have themselves acted as clients initiating PFI projects.
Therefore pension funds with investments in public sector contractors and PFI projects have a significant interest in the condition of workers employed by the companies providing public services of which they are shareowners.
This conference believes that the adoption of a Responsible Contractor Policy could support and encourage fair wages and fair benefits for workers employed by public sector contractors and subcontractors.
Conference believes that pension funds and public services will benefit from investments in companies that observe and enforce a Responsible Contractor Policy because companies providing public services will have properly compensated and trained workers that deliver higher quality products and services than those that will not adopt such a policy.
Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Council (NEC) to develop a “Responsible Contractor Policy” that contains as a minimum:
1)compliance with the Workforce Code on two-tier workforce;
2)compliance with TUPE for the life-time of contracts;
3)trade union recognition;
4)compliance with Equality Duty Legislation.
This Conference further resolves to campaign for the adoption of such a policy by occupational pension schemes within the public sector, and resolves to campaign for private sector service providers to adopt the Responsible Contractor Policy.