A high volume of shareholdings in global capital markets is held in workers’ retirement savings and pension funds - otherwise known as workers’ capital. As the ultimate beneficiaries of these deferred wages, workers are the indirect owners of a substantial portion of the world’s equities.

Workers’ capital is invested in companies that are operating in a globalised economy, and with increasingly complex supply chains. By leveraging their retirement savings, workers can play a role in how companies respect human and labour rights, remain financially sustainable, and minimize adverse impacts on the environment.

The Global Unions Statement on Responsible Approaches to the Stewardship of Workers’ Capital (December 2007) is an important guiding framework for our work. The statement urges pension funds, their trustees and fund managers to consider the impact, both positive and negative, of their investments on workers, communities and the environment.