Jake Berry MP backs government consultation on Trade Union representation in the Civil Service
The Government is to begin a consultation aimed at ending taxpayer-funded full-time trade union work in the Civil Service, reviewing and seeking to cap part-time trade union work at the statutory minimum and being more transparent about the use of paid time on union business.
Jake Berry has supported the Government’s approach which adds weight to his recent criticism of Blackburn with Darwen Council. The Council has been providing trade unions with an office, IT facilities and pay for 3 trade union officials to the tune of £94,800 when Council services are facing budget cuts.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance has estimated that 2,493 full-time-equivalent public sector employees worked for trade unions at the taxpayers’ expense in 2009-10. It is estimated that the cost of providing so-called ‘Facilities Time’ to civil servants in central government is around £30 million per year but currently there is no consistent way of recording the total cost of trade union facility time.
Jake Berry said:
‘Trade unions play an important role in many workplaces in both the public and private sectors. However, I do not think it is right for the taxpayer to be asked to fund full-time trade unionists to do full-time trade union work.
Blackburn with Darwen Council continue this practice but is simply not reasonable nor is it possible for these full time union representatives to adequately represent the views of the staff in their department if they are not properly embedded and involved in the work of the department.’
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