Unison rise to the challenge of Climate Change
Members of the Northwest Probation and CAFCASS branch will remember the divestment motion that it passed back in 2015. That motion this week became UNISONs national policy
What it means is that unison will encourage the LGPF (All probation staff amongst many others are members of the GMPF) to divest from Fossil Fuel extraction and then invest into a just transition.
Kev Allsop, who has been at the fore of the campaign said “ Unisons National Delegate Conference, our trade unions sovereign body, has today accepted the very real progress we can make in achieving carbon neutral pension funds.
Whilst austerity has certainly benefit the ruling classes it has done nothing to increase the lot of our members and the communities in which we live. And at a time when fuel sovereignty is vital we should not be investing in nuclear energy but instead sustainable forms of energy production“
Not only do Unison see a very real opportunity to move £billions from Fossil Fuel extraction but have the foresight to imagine how these funds could be used to boost the economy and create jobs delivering anything from Sustainable Energy production to Council Housing creating both jobs and much needed homes benefitting generations to come whilst reducing the cost of pensions and housing benefit to the taxpayer.
Sustainable Energy production and Council Housing require a significant amount of Capital investment but give stable returns over a very long time, this suits pension schemes perfectly as they have significant capital and seek investments that will provide stable returns over a long period which means secure jobs, which will be held by unison members will be created. Basic economics tell us that for every £1 of net pay we generate a further £2.08 of re spend thus boosting the local economies.
As probation staff we see all too frequently the problems that families face when they are unable to have safe secure homes and our comrades in the NHS will be quick to point out that one of the key factors to health is being able to maintain a home above 18 degrees”