THOUSANDS of public sector workers in the Avon region will be asked if they want their pensions invested in the arms trade.
The Avon Pension Fund is facing growing public pressure to divest millions of pounds from companies which make weapons used by Israel in its war on Gaza.
The retirement savings of 140,000 staff, in councils, schools and other organisations, should not be invested in aerospace and defence companies, according to pro-Palestine campaigners.
But councillors on the pension fund committee were warned of the risk of divesting.
They voted 10 to three in keeping the current investment strategy on March 28. However, this decision is only in principle, and now the fund’s members will be consulted about whether the current strategy should be kept, or if defence companies should no longer be invested in.
Several pro-Palestine campaigners urged councillors to divest from the arms trade, and a demonstration was held outside Bath Guildhall before the meeting. Protesters had previously presented the fund committee with petitions when it met in Keynsham in December.
Toni Mayo, a children’s social worker and member of the Avon Pension Fund, said: “I’m unwillingly complicit in the slaughter of babies, children and families all over the world, because money is being invested in the arms trade by my pension fund.
“In Gaza, 1,100 people have been killed in the last five days, including 400 children. I oppose this with every fibre of my being, as a mother, a social worker, and a trade unionist, but mostly as a human being.”
It’s unclear when the consultation will begin, but it’s understood to be “as soon as possible”.
However the fund’s committee was told that changing its investment strategy based on one particular conflict would be hard to defend legally. Instead, a more defensible option would be to stop investing in all arms companies, according to Nick Dixon, head of pensions at the fund.
But this would include firms that employ thousands of people in the region, as well as supply Ukraine with weapons to defend against the Russian invasion. Two firms, Lockheed Martin and RTX, are already excluded from investments on ethical grounds.
The Avon Pension Fund invests £6 billion on behalf of staff at 450 employers, including local councils and schools. At the moment, £18.3 million of this is invested in arms companies. Divesting would involve setting up a bespoke passive pool of shares in companies, which would cost an estimated £1 million a year due to the extra costs paid to asset managers.
The fund doesn’t manage its investments directly. These are held in the Brunel Pension Partnership, which invests in many different companies across the world. After the consultation, the committee will then make a final decision regarding investing in the arms trade.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Paul Crossley, chair of the pension fund committee, said: “Now that the committee has made a decision in principle, we will consult our members, which will inform the committee’s final decision. We will report on the members’ views in public as soon as practical in 2025.”
Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service
Pictured, protesters outside the pension fund’s meeting in Keynsham in December
Pension consultation on arms trade investments
