Government attacks on trade union rights and facility arrangements

Facility time is under attack by this government, especially for public sector workers. In the civil service, detailed measures have already been introduced to drastically curtail union facility time. Local authority facility time is also under severe pressure, including cuts and calls to require all councils to publish details of the amount spent on union facility time.

TUC Education has produced an e-Note on Facility Time explaining your rights and the purpose and benefits of union facilities and facility time. It can be accessed, along with other e-Notes, by registering for free with TUC Education (https://www.tuceducation.org.uk).

Public services union UNISON has updated its guidance for union branches, identifying the key public sector collective agreements and helping reps make the case for their facility time: see Facility Time, February 2014 (https://www.unison.org.uk/upload/sharepoint/On%20line%20Catalogue/22180.pdf).

For a detailed legal analysis of the attack on trade union facilities, facility time and time off see The political attack on workplace representation — a legal response, Bogg and Ewing, 2013, published by the Institute of Employment Rights (www.ier.org.uk/publications/political-attack-workplace-representation-legal-response).