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Public Private Partnership for Socially Responsible Investment

Published: 13 May 2013
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Panel Speakers with ILO and ADB representatives





Anjali Bedekar highlighting research study on ADB local currency bonds





Participants at the panel discussion







UNI Apro Finance President

Yutaka Seki

At the recently concluded 46th Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Governors Meeting events held in New Delhi, India. Global Unions jointly organized a Civil Society Organization panel discussion on the theme “Pensions towards Socially Responsible Investment”.

The Global Unions, including UNI Global Union, are international trade union organisations working together with a shared commitment to the ideals and principles of the trade union movement.



ADB’s inclusive growth strategies aim to introduce Public Private Partnership for infrastructure development projects. Global Unions voiced concerns about workers savings being channeled in to ADB funded projects violating workers’ rights and internationally accepted labor standards at a CSO Panel discussion

Yutaka Seki, President of UNI Apro Finance spoke at the panel representing the trade unions about the Japanese pensions system. Seki highlighted the nuances of employees’ pension fund in Japan but also key challenges faced in ensuring responsible investment. A separate component of ‘Trust Bank’ ensures adequate returns to the employees through responsible investment in Japan.



UNI APRO DELEGATION AT THE PANEL DISCUSSION



Panel speakers presented case studies from the Government Service Insurance System in Philippines and deficiencies of New Pension System introduced in India. Markus Ruck, ILO representative said that the pension fund investment has to be more socially responsible and include trade unions as key stakeholders in the decision-making process. ADB spokesperson at the panel, Bart W Edes dwelled on the role of pension funds in creating opportunities, through responsible investments so that the fund needs in an economy to ensure workers future is secured through increased returns on their pension.

The GUF delegation at the ADB meeting lobbied for a transparent framework for the deployment of pension funds in socially responsible investment. In the joint communique of the Global Unions, trade unions called for ADB and the constituent governments to:

“Ensure that the workers’ pension funds are invested in a socially responsible way. Ensuring workers’ hard-earned money does not serve neither to degrade public services through privatisation nor used for speculative profit engineering”

For the GUF joint communique, please refer to the Attached Articles.

Visit Global Unions Campaign blog: : http://globalunionsonadb.wordpress.com/