Councils spent nearly £2.7 million last year paying staff to work on behalf of trade unions, figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives have revealed.
It means, since the SNP came to power in 2007, nearly £14 million has been spent on the so-called “time facility arrangements”.
Stirling Council spent £136,475 on time facility arrangements in 2012/13 whilst Perth and Kinross spent £75,472, Clackmannanshire- £39,479 and Fife - £28,297.
The massive cost comes at a time when councils are being tasked with keeping public spending under control.
The statistics, received through Freedom of Information, show there were 101 workers dedicated full-time on union duties while taking a council salary in 2012/13, compared to 98 the previous year.That led to £2.7 million being spent, though that is a slight decrease on the £3 million outlaid in 2011/12.
Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Murdo Fraser said:
“People are happy to see council staff rewarded for jobs they do, but certainly not for jobs they don’t do.
“This is an incredible amount of money to spend on these arrangements, particularly at a time when all public bodies need to tighten their belts.
"Stirling Council have just announced that they won't be picking up brown garden waste bins from the end of September and services are due to be disrupted again next week due to more industrial action by Unions who seem bent on making a political point rather than serving their members.
“I'm sure Stirling taxpayers will be particularly disgusted to learn that they are being expected to pay for Union leaders to make trouble and disrupt services.
“These arrangements have to be reviewed as a matter of urgency.
“I understand some kind of compromise has to be reached allowing union officials to go about their business, but it is unacceptable that this has to come at such an extortionate expense to the taxpayer.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
Below is a list of local authorities and how much they spent on time facility arrangements in 2012/13:
Aberdeen – £115,810
Aberdeenshire – £181,683
Angus – n/a
Argyll and Bute – information not held
Clackmannanshire – £39,479
Dumfries and Galloway – £86,911
Dundee – information not held
East Ayrshire – 0
East Dunbartonshire – £206,049
East Lothian – £85,841
East Renfrewshire – £71,937
Edinburgh – £267,113
Falkirk – £87,800
Fife – £28,297
Glasgow – £351,583
Highland – £87,400
Inverclyde – £85,746
Midlothian – £111,829
Moray – £30,000
North Ayrshire – £41,021
North Lanarkshire – £98,295
Orkney – £7,971
Perth and Kinross – £75,472
Renfrewshire – £127,020
Scottish Borders - £64,212
South Ayrshire – £47,710
South Lanarkshire – information not held
Stirling – £136,475
West Dunbartonshire – £133,154
Western Isles – £81,492
Total - £2,671,733
The information also shows that, since 2007, councils have spent a total of £13,961,000 on staff working for unions.