UNISON is threatening legal and industrial action over a decision by Swindon Council to remove taxpayer-funded salaries for two union jobs at the authority.

Bob Cretchley and Karla Bradford share a full-time post, which faces the axe in April after the council voted to withdraw £29,000 in Unison support as part of an efficiency drive.

More than 100 union members took part in a rally against the move outside of the Civic Offices ahead of the decision at the budget meeting on Thursday night.

Unison has taken legal advice from a lawyer and is threatening legal action and strikes against the council.

Unison south west regional secretary Joanne Kaye said the move would not save money as employees who do other council jobs would have to be funded to take on the union responsibilities.

And she said the council could also be left with a large legal bill. She told the rally: “We see this as a test case and every resource of the union will be put into defending this attack on union rights.

“Whatever it takes, whether it’s legal, whether it’s industrial, whether it’s political, we will use every means at our disposal to fight this.”

She also addressed the criticism that council taxpayers should not subsidise unions, asking for example, whether it would be right if those without children did not help to pay for schools.

Swindon’s Unison branch secretary Bob Cretchley, told the gathering the cut was retribution from the Conservatives over the strike in November.

He said: “They want a weak and divided workforce so that they can push through anything they want.

“And they absolutely hate the fact that Unison has stood up against them in this.”

During the budget meeting, Coun Derique Montaut (Lab, Central) said that union support would be especially important during the council’s Stronger Together reorganisation, and pledged Labour would reverse the cut if the Party takes control in the May elections.

Council leader Coun Rod Bluh said Unison should fund the jobs through member subscriptions.

And he pointed out that the GMB and Unite unions have members at the council but they are not council-funded.

He said: “I believe there are 3,000 Unison members in Swindon, so the subscription must be in the region of £500,000 collected in the town.

“So what are these subscriptions being collected for if they aren’t to support their core activity which is to represent their members?

“These posts can continue forever – all I’m asking for is for unions to pay for their own representatives out of their own funds collected from their own members.”