TUC slams new levy

The TUC has slammed the government’s proposals to impose a levy on unions to cover the costs of the union regulator, describing them as “cynical and ideological anti-union rules”.

The plans, which will cost unions 2.5% of their total income and potentially much more if they are found to have breached any rules, were contained in the 2016 Trade Union Act. They had not so far been implemented but the government now plans to start them in April.

One of the purposes is to cover the handling of complaints against unions, but the TUC points out that, in 2020-21, the certification officer dealt with just 34 complaints — one for every 200,000 union members.