Plans to prevent union members having their subs deducted from wages are “a silly and petty policy,” says Doncaster mayor Ros Jones.
“It is not what the government should be wasting its time on when there are real national and international issues to be grappled with,” she added.
Ms Jones, a directly elected mayor, was replying to a question from councillor Rachael Hodson, asking if the mayor would agree that the government’s Trade Union Bill is “unfair, unnecessary and undemocratic,” and whether she would write to local government secretary Greg Clark saying so.
Ms Jones agreed, saying the bill “is nonsense. It is simply an unnecessary attack.”
She also pointed out that ” Doncaster council already processes numerous other payroll deductions and the cost of checking off trade union subscriptions is minimal.
“As far as I am concerned, Doncaster council will continue to offer the service unless the government make it illegal,” she pledged.
And the mayor also gave her backing to the wider role of unions, saying they “are a good thing”.
Trade unions “were set up to protect employees and that need is still relevant today,” she added.
“Good employers are not scared of trade unions, they value them and work with them.”
Find out more about the UNISON campaign on the Trade Union Bill.
