VOLUNTEERING AND TRADE UNIONS

That this House notes that trade unionists undertake 100,000 hours of unpaid voluntary work per week; further notes that they have been described as the workplace wing of the Big Society; thanks all of those trade unionists for their hard work and contribution to the country; believes that these dedicated individuals represent the very best of the trade union movement; further believes that their actions are in stark contrast to those of public sector workers, who are employed full-time on trade union activities, who are costing taxpayers money in record numbers despite public opposition; deplores all those who continue to claim salaries for work their colleagues undertake for free; further deplores that each such worker denies a salary to a much needed frontline worker; and supports the Prime Minister's pledge to ban all full-time trade union officials in the public sector.