£15m cost to councils of workers who spend half their time on union duty
THE number of employees at local authorities who spend half their time carrying out union duties has soared over the past three years, a report last night revealed.
Research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance estimated the total cost of “facility time” – time off taken by employees to carry out union duties – reached almost £15million at councils across England.
A total of 371 local authority employees carried out union duties for at least 50 per cent of their working time, the research fond.
The report estimated that the total cost of facility time to local councils in England was £14,648,030 between the financial years 2012/13 and 2015/16.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance estimated that the expenditure was enough to fix 275,195 potholes in roads.
Alex Wild, the pressure group’s research director, said: “Trade unions are voluntary bodies of members and so should only receive the support of those members, not taxpayers.
“A huge amount continues to fund union duties, often without the express knowledge or consent of taxpayers, which simply isn’t right.
“At a time when every part of the public sector has to make necessary savings, tens of millions of pounds cannot be wasted on subsidising political campaigns at the expense of hardpressed families.”
The average local authority saw at least 0.11 per cent of their wage bill go to trade unions. The figure compares with just 0.04 per cent in the private sector.
TaxPayers’ Alliance researchers also pointed out that the true cost of facility time was likely to be much higher than estimated as many authorities failed to provide data for the survey.
The two highest spenders on facility time were Birmingham City Council and Leeds City Council – £1,124,924 and £502,095 respectively during the threeyear period.
Facility time duties included employment negotiations and discussions on flexible working arrangements.
Claire Kober, chairwoman of the Local Government Association’s Resources Board, said: “Local government is going through a period of immense change in response to unprecedented pressures.
“Councils would find it impossible to do this without the hard work and engagement of staff.
“Proper discussion and consultation with staff requires the use of reasonable facility time by union representatives and so some reasonable expenditure is inevitable. Councils are taking steps to ensure that the system is always used properly.”