On 08 June the UK government announced that the Certification Officer, the public body responsible for checking that trade unions and employers' associations comply with the relevant statutes, is set to see its functions expanded. The aim of this change, which has previously been approved by Parliament, is to bring the powers of this supervisory body into line with those of other similar bodies like the Pensions Regulator, Financial Reporting Council and Electoral Commission. While the government welcomes this move for "transparency", the trades unions criticize it as a purely political act.
Going forward the Certification Officer will be able to respond if a third party is concerned that a trade union or employers’ body may have failed to comply with its statutory duties.
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