Campaigners stage ‘unhappy birthday party’ demonstration to demand Strathclyde Pension Fund ends investment in genocide & climate disaster

Palestine solidarity, climate and trade union groups protested outside Strathclyde Pension Fund’s 50th anniversary celebration at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall today to call on the fund to stop investing over £400 million in fossil fuel companies that are fuelling the climate crisis and the genocide in Gaza, in what they dubbed an ‘unhappy birthday party’. 

Earlier this month, John Swinney announced that Scotland will no longer fund firms providing arms to Israel, and MSPs voted in favour of an immediate boycott of Israel and of companies complicit in the genocide. Campaigners are calling on Strathclyde Pension Fund to follow the Scottish Government’s lead. 

This week a UN Commission confirmed that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza strip. It urged member states, companies and individuals to examine direct or indirect links to assisting the genocide and to take legal proceedings against those parties where appropriate – this could potentially put pension funds and other investors at risk of prosecution.  

Groups taking part in today’s ‘Divest Strathclyde Pension Fund from Disaster’ demonstration included Unison Scotland, Glasgow Trades Union Council, Time to Divest Glasgow, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Extinction Rebellion Glasgow and Divest Strathclyde. 

The protestors are demanding an end to the Strathclyde Pension Fund’s investment in three of the world’s biggest polluters, Shell, TotalEnergies and Italian oil giant, Eni, and to commit to urgent divestment from arms and military technology companies such as Airbus that are supplying weapons used in the ongoing genocide.   

Research has revealed that Eni, Shell and TotalEnergies are supplying oil to Israel and are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people and in making the climate emergency worse through their continued fossil fuel projects. 

Stuart Graham from Unison Scotland said:  

“It has now been four years since Strathclyde Pension Fund promised to cut ties with companies fuelling climate breakdown, but still no action has been taken. And now some of the same companies are literally fuelling the genocide in Palestine.  While the hard-earned, deferred wages of our council workers, carers, early years and other public sector workers continue to be outrageously funnelled into investments that profit from disaster capitalism.   

“If you are a member of Strathclyde Pension Fund, are you happy in the knowledge that your current or future retirement is, with its current investment profile, based on companies that are complicit in genocide and climate catastrophe?  Or would you prefer it to be through ethical investments that create green jobs, housing and decent local infrastructure for Glasgow and beyond? Same question to every council taxpayer. The Pension Fund must wake up and realise that life and building a better future for everyone is the biggest priority for investment.” 

Imaan Niven from Time to Divest Glasgow said:  

“Over the past three months, since the launch of our campaign, the genocide in Palestine has worsened, but we can see the tide turning. From our First Minister and now the UN declaring it a genocide, to sports and music boycotts, and the Scottish Government voting to divest from Israel, change is coming.  

“Strathclyde Pension Fund has failed to even acknowledge demands for divestment, putting itself at the risk of breaking international law for their part in failing to prevent and instead, aiding and profiting from the death and destruction in Palestine. We urge SPF to meet our demands before it is too late. The time to divest is now.” 

The demonstration comes four years after Glasgow City councillors voted in favour of divesting the Strathclyde Pension Fund from fossil fuels. The fund has still not set a timeline or strategy for achieving this.  

According to the latest investment figures from June 2025, Strathclyde Pension Fund invests £43.8 million in Eni, £11.2 million in French oil company TotalEnergies and £10.7 million in Royal Dutch Shell.  

Sally Clark from Friends of the Earth Scotland said: 

“With 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record and extreme weather devastating millions of lives around the world, it has never been more urgent for Strathclyde Pension Fund to stop gambling with our lives and instead invest in a future worth having by funding genuine solutions like home insulation, social housing and renewable energy that can benefit communities here in Scotland and around the world and ensure we have a liveable planet for everyone.” 

Elle Miller from Extinction Rebellion Glasgow said:  

“While the world burns, Strathclyde Pension Fund continues to fuel the fire. The fund holds millions in companies such as Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni, Airbus and Caterpillar that profit from climate collapse and the genocide in Gaza. These shares are active investments in destruction.  

“Strathclyde Pension Fund claims to act in the best interests of contributors—workers who spend their lives caring for others. But how does investing in fossil fuels and arms manufacturers reflect the values of teachers, carers, and social workers? So today, we’re not asking. We’re demanding that Strathclyde Pension Fund divests from fossil fuels, divests from genocide and divests from disaster.”