Pension fund to halt investment in company over fire and rehire dispute

Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter

A council pension fund will halt investment into Oscar Mayer’s parent company after finding £5.6m of member funds had indirectly been tied up in the business.

Members of the the Clwyd Pension Fund’s committee agreed that no more money should be invested in Pemberton Asset Management, supporting the Unite union’s claim that it is not ethical for those in retirement to benefit from profits gained through wage restrictions.

Pemberton Asset Management owns 85% of ready meal manufacturer Oscar Mayer, which is currently locked in a dispute with 600 workers at its Wrexham site over an alleged fire and rehire programme which would see pay cut by up to £3,000 per year.

Council officers and councillors

The Clwyd Pension Fund, which supports retired council officers and councillors from Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire has around 52,000 members and pays out more than £70m in pensions annually.

Its funds are managed in part by the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP), which invested money into Pemberton.

Because of this indirect investment, Clwyd Pension Fund would benefit from any increase in profitability for Oscar Mayer as a result of its controversial plans. That prompted Unite to write to the pension fund’s committee on behalf of Oscar Mayer workers.

“It cannot be right that the returns Pemberton promises to pension funds that invest the retirement savings of local government workers in Wrexham come at the price of reducing the pay of other modestly paid workers in their community,” they wrote.

Responsible Investment Policy

The committee ruled that no future investments of Clwyd Pension Fund money should be made to Pemberton Asset Management. It also agreed to liaise with WPP to seek the reasons why money was invested and whether it is in line with WPP’s Responsible Investment Policy.

“If every Oscar Mayer worker pays council tax, they would collectively pay around £150,000 per year into the Clwd Pension Fund every year,” said committee member and Wrexham County Borough councillor Anthony Wedlake.

“This is very close to home. It’s shameful that instead of improving the performance of the company they are driving down the wages of workers.”

“I fully support this,” added Flintshire councillor Billy Mullin. “No further investment is a step the right direction and I’d like to thank you on behalf of my colleagues in the Trade Union movement.”