The Sun dances to the Tax Dodgers' Tune

You can tell that it’s the silly season in the media when recycled news hits the headlines. This weekend, The Sun ‘reported’ on the trade union facilities agreements of larger local authority employers:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3543327/Cuts-councils-pay-10m-union-wages.html#comment-rig

Such shallow journalism is easy to dismiss as a cheap attempt to whip up public opposition to public sector unions. Yet the comments of Tory Minister Grant Shapps suggests that this is only the beginning of a Tory onslaught on trade union rights in the public sector:

"Local authorities are taking tough decisions to protect services, so it's outrageous that taxpayers are being forced to fund the activities of union barons. Trade unions are sucking money away from vital services while at the same time planning to spend millions on politically motivated propaganda against the spending cuts."