COUNCILS in the region are paying out more than £1 million a year to staff who work full time on trade union business, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Unions chiefs and council bosses have defended the roles, saying staff have the right to union representation - and it is more effective and convenient to have permanent union reps based in town halls.

But critics have questioned why cash-strapped councils are funding union reps when vital services are being axed.

An investigation by The Northern Echo reveals that more 35 taxpayer-funded full-time union officials work in council offices across the North-East and North Yorkshire.

A freedom of information request revealed the union officials receive salaries of between £19,000 and £40,000 per year.

North Yorkshire County Council pays for nine union officials, equivalent to six full-time members of staff, who are paid a total of around £185,000.

Durham County Council pays the wages of five union officers at a cost of around £123,000.

Stockton, Hartlepool, and Redcar and Cleveland all employ one full-time union rep.

The discovery that Darlington Borough Council paid around £40,000 a year for a Unison branch secretary prompted a heated debate in the council chamber earlier this year - with opposition councillors questioning why the authority was paying the official's wages.

In response, Labour councillors said it was cost-effective to pay for full-time union officials.

Commenting on the Echo's findings, Charles Johnson, deputy leader of the council's Conservative group, said he had no problem with union officials being based in town halls.

"My concern is that taxpayers are paying for them. Surely it should be up to the unions themselves to support their officers.

"It seems to be common practice in the North - why should it be?"

North-East Ukip MEP Jonathan Arnott also questioned the practice.

"In these times of austerity and cuts councils should not be paying for people doing full-time union work out of taxpayers' money."

He added that council staff who worked on council work as well as union business would have a better understanding of the issues faced by members.

In response to the criticism, the GMB said local authorities had agreements with unions, which allow staff to be released from their normal duties to undertake trade union duties with the authority.

A spokesman added: "Those individuals remain local authority employees and they are not union employees. For example, the union cannot direct them to carry out union activities elsewhere. Furthermore, nearly all of their time is spent in meetings with the local authority and with other local authority staff.

"Staff have a legal right to be represented by a union representative in disciplinary and grievance meeting. The authority has to conduct business with its unions and it is often more convenient and effective to have an individual permanently available to do this. There is no money paid to the union for this or to any employee of the union by the local authority."

Kim Jobson, Durham County Council’s head of human resources and organisational development, said: “The council is one of the largest unitary authorities in the country by population, employing over 18,000 people, and the number of trade union representatives within the council is relative to the workforce size.

“Trade unions play an important role for the council in maintaining positive employee relations within the organisation, helping to resolve issues and identify areas for improvement on behalf of the workforce.”

North Yorkshire County Council said its nine union official posts included teaching unions, which other authorities did not include as they had fewer schools.

A spokeswoman added: "In North Yorkshire schools access trade union time and input from the county council as part of the service they purchase from human resources. At least half of Unison time and costs also relates to schools.

"This means that the cost of trade union support covers a county council workforce inclusive of schools staff of some 19,000."

Hambleton and Richmondshire were among several smaller authorities in North Yorkshire which do not employ any union officials.

Several councils refused to disclose how many union reps they paid for, which unions they represented or how much they were paid, claiming the information was exempt under FOI laws.

According to the responses, public sector union Unison have the most officials working in councils in the region with at least 12, while general workers' union GMB has at least five.

Other union with taxpayer-paid reps working in councils included Unite, NUT and NASUWT.