Once upon a time Dundee Council was a leading light in the Local Authority Nuclear Free Zone movement, today it’s employee’s pension contributions prop up the international arms industry.
The pension fund has over £2million invested in companies manufacturing arms of mass destruction. Of course, £2 million’s not much of a stake, 0.3% of pension investment, but it’s the message it sends that’s important. For just as the Nuclear Free Zones sent a message that Scotland did not want to be turned into a radioactive cinder heap should somebody have been mad enough to fire off a missile from a Clyde-based Trident submarine, Dundee pulling its funding of the arms companies sends a message not just to the companies but to other councils like Aberdeen whose pension funds have a much larger stake in arms profits.
As far as local councils are concerned the elected councillors carry the can. However, the investment of the council workers pension contributions will not be known to them it will be done by a faceless investment manager. But your councillor can do something about it.
If enough people raise the matter with their elected representative then you never know the policy may just change.
