The Taxpayers’ Alliance has documented the extortionate Council Tax increases throughout Wales over the past number of weeks, including a tour of North Wales just this week highlighting the plight of hard working families and how local authorities are increasing the burden on some of the most vulnerable in society.
However there is a much darker side of the massive 5 per cent increases in Council Tax that we have seen in Wales and that is where the money is actually going. As a result of a Freedom of Information request we are sad to learn that Newport Council have been subsidising union officials with taxpayers' money - to the tune of £57,000!
The Council representatives claim that they want to ensure all of their employees benefit from collective representation but why does this matter? Most private sector workers use their vote at the ballot box to do this or for some reason is Newport a special case? In what could be described as publicly funded yet private legal aid, support and representation council taxpayers in Newport should be livid.
Trade unions as we know, are organisations that are supposed to be privately funded by their members. There is nothing to stop employees at the Council joining the union - but taxpayers shouldn't be subsidising it.
I am sure that at a time when we're trying desperately to find savings across Councils, taxpayers will be livid that their money is being used to pay union salaries.
Now is time for hard working taxpayers in Newport to take note of who is increasing their Council Tax, who is spending their money on doomed projects, who is handing public money to private organisations…