LOCAL authorities are bearing the brunt of the Government’s crackdown on public sector spending.

Earlier this month, financial chiefs revealed that Durham County Council will have to save more than £200m by 2018.

They candidly admitted that, despite unprecedented cutbacks to libraries, leisure and public transport, they still do not know where £50mworth of savings will come from.

We therefore find it surprising that Durham County Council is still subsidising union staff wages by almost £100,000 a year.

Council leader Simon Henig said of the cuts recently: “We are talking about whether we can cut the grass and patch up the roads. It will come down to a choice between those things and maintaining our spending on social care for vulnerable children and adults.”

Union representation can be a force for good in the workplace. A pragmatic working relationship between employers and employee representatives can sometimes head off problems before they become costly disputes.

Councils are also in the unique position of having to deal with several national negotiating bodies due to the wide spread of occupations – everything from teachers to health care professionals – they employ.

Although £100,000 is a drop in the ocean, at a time when town hall budgets are under pressure like never before we believe it would be prudent to keep union subsidies under close scrutiny.