§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in each of the last four years. [36210]
§ Ruth KellyThe arrangements for granting paid leave for union duties are the subject of formal agreements between Departments and the recognised trade unions within each Department. The agreements vary to reflect the needs of each Department. As the day-to-day management of each agreement is in the hands of managers throughout the UK detailed figures of the type sought are not readily available in every Department and the cost of collecting them would be disproportionate.
Managers are aware of the need to guard against excessive or unnecessary absences and paid union activity is restricted to the minimum necessary to ensure effective industrial relations and minimise strife.