John Hannett – Usdaw General Secretary says: “This Government claims to be the champions of cutting red-tape, yet their proposal would place a huge bureaucratic burden on trade unions. The existing system works well and there is no need for change. Usdaw informs members of their legal right to opt-out of paying the political levy when they join, but the vast majority recognise the need for effective political campaigning on their behalf.

“Our members have four times voted overwhelmingly for the union to have a political fund, the last ballot in 2014 was over 90% in favour, because our members know that we need a political voice to campaign for workers’ rights. Trade unions have the most transparent and democratically accountable funds in politics, so the Lords are right to ask why change is necessary. It is a solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist.

“The Lords are also right that reform of party political funding should be done on a consensual basis. It is wrong for the Conservative Government to act in such a partisan way, turning their backs on the convention of cross-party agreement on these matters, which Labour abided by in Government.

“However, political funding is just one aspect of a Trade Union Bill that seeks to undermine the collective voice of workers and the ability of trade unions to work with employers and represent their staff with fairness. The Bill feels more like a control mechanism than fostering good industrial relations. The agreements we have with some of the UK’s largest private sector companies have been developed based on trust, an understanding of the business and honest representation.

“The Government should focus on promoting the best practices of good industrial relations, rather than obsessing about what may be seen as the worst. Unions are problem solvers not problem causers.”

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fourth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 440,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the Union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion