COUNCILLORS have clashed over the council’s funding of trade union activites.

The Conservative group put forward a motion to axe the council’s £339,000 spend on trade union facilities, including time off and expenses for union representatives working for council employees.

But furious Labour councillor David Sheard accused the Tories of “total ignorance” and said Kirklees Unison saved the council money through the avoidance of expensive legal costs.

Earlier, Kirklees Unison chief Paul Holmes said Kirklees Unison paid the council more than £200,000 and paid the wages of its own staff.