Public Sector Workers Trust Under Review After Audit Findings

It is a fund born out of a decades-old fight by retired public officers to recover money they say government still owes them. But tonight, the Public Sector Workers Trust is facing fresh scrutiny after an audit reportedly raised questions about grants issued and loans that were later written off. Public Service Union President Dean Flowers says there is no reason to investigate the trustees themselves. But he concedes that if questions are being asked about how the fund was managed, then the focus should turn to the trust’s administrative staff.

 

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“There can be no investigation of any of those trustees because I can tell you that the trust produces audited financial statements each and every year. Those are published publicly. And any member who was affected by the increment freezes in ’95 or, or ’97 can look at those statements and ask the relevant and requisite questions. And I want to say that these audits are independent. These audits have been presented to the courts. And so there is absolutely no way that it can be that any of those trustees should be investigated. What we need to ensure is that they’re doing the right thing, that they’re in compliance with the Trust Act, that they’re in compliance with the trust deed and that the people who are impacted by this trust, that they show up when there’s meetings to hold the trustees accountable. But I mean, but in terms of investigating trustees, I don’t know. The trustees don’t sign checks and have access to the bank account. And these – there are clear separation of duties. That is done by an administrative staff. So I don’t know that it is the trustees that should be investigated. It would more be the administrative staff, the administrator, the finance officer, the accountant, and those type of people. So no trustees should be investigated for mismanagement of funds.”

 

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