A SENIOR union official has called on Swindon Council to reverse its decision to remove taxpayer-funded salaries for two Unison 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 the Civic Offices ahead of the decision at the budget meeting on Thursday.

Now Roger McKenzie, a national assistant general secretary at Unison, which has threatened legal and industrial action, is asking the council to reinstate the funding.

Speaking ahead of the Swindon branch’s AGM yesterday he said: “It’s not too late for the council to change their minds.

“I think it’s really important they do change their minds and the reason why is that any organisation that’s interested in good industrial relations, as this authority claims to be, is making a really bad decision to remove the very people who are going to enable them to have good industrial relations in the authority.

“What it is saying is, we want to move anyone out of the way who can stop us making the sort of changes we want to make and we will remove the people that can potentially, and in fact have a history of, standing up for people when the worst excesses of managers take place.”

Mr McKenzie said Unison would not take up the council’s offer of the union paying the salaries from members’ subscriptions. He said most authorities of Swindon’s size pay for such roles.

He said the salaries are the council’s contribution, while Unison pays for computer equipment, the training of stewards, and a branch administrator.

“If this was about money, then they have to tell us why our members are being attacked, when political consultants are still being paid for out of the council tax,” said Mr McKenzie.

Speaking last week, council leader Rod Bluh said Unison should fund the jobs through member subscriptions.

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

“So what are these subscriptions collected for if they aren’t to support their core activity, which is to represent 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.”