THE leader of the Conservatives on Swansea Council has claimed the authority is paying out £140,000 a year on the wages of trade union officials.

Councillor Rene Kinzett said that under a deal reached in 1996, Swansea Council agreed to fund 16 members of staff, paid for by the local taxpayer, but working for the unions.

Mr Kinzett, who has been a workplace union officer himself, said he supported the unions in doing their job of representing the interests of their members and ensuring people received good quality public services.

But he added: "I did it on top of my day job and I didn't get any payments from my employer to carry out my union duties.

"At a time of severe budget restraint, I would hope that those in charge of Swansea Council are seriously looking at this arrangement."

Councillor Mary Jones, cabinet member for business improvement and efficiency, said the figures cited by Mr Kinzett could not be confirmed at the time the Post went to press.

However, she added that all areas of expenditure were being looked at by the authority.

She said the comments from Mr Kinzett appeared to represent "a remarkable U-turn".

"He voted recently against a report which I presented to council in October, called the Statement of Budget Principles and Priorities, which was intended to identify the process for cost-saving measures," she added.

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