THE country’s most senior trade union figure is facing a backlash within his own organisation over his outside earnings.

A private meeting of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) last week included a discussion on general secretary Grahame Smith, who is believed to have boosted his pay packet by around £150,000 for sitting on Government-linked boards.

The STUC’s governing body is now reviewing its procedures for membership of external bodies.

The Herald on Sunday contacted some of the STUC’s largest affiliated unions about the controversy, but many did not provide a comment.

However, a spokesperson for the GMB Scotland union, which is a key part of the STUC, said: "On numerous occasions we have raised our concerns about transparency and accountability in the running of the STUC. This is to defend the jobs and conditions of the staff we represent in the STUC and to ensure the organisation's future ability to campaign effectively on behalf of all its affiliate members. We will continue to address those concerns through the internal processes of the STUC."

As the umbrella body for nearly 40 affiliated trade unions, the STUC represents around 540,000 workers and acts as the voice of organised labour north of the border.

However, critics have questioned the STUC’s independence under Mr Smith’s leadership after it emerged the body received over 60% of its funding from the SNP Government last year.

Mr Smith, who became general secretary in 2006, has also faced sniping from within the trade union world over the way he has topped up an STUC remuneration package thought to be close to £70,000.

As a board member of jobs quango Scottish Enterprise between 2008 and 2016, Mr Smith is believed to have received up to £100,000 in fees.

He currently has three additional posts which attract payment. As a board member of Skills Development Scotland he is entitled to between £5,000 and £10,000 a year and qualifies for a £4,739 a year salary bump as a board member of the Scottish Qualifications Authority. He can also receive a daily rate as a member of the Enterprise and Skills Enterprise Board.

Mr Smith was also briefly the interim chair of the Glasgow Colleges Regional Board, for which he received £5,000, but he did not not receive any remuneration for his time on the UK Commission on Employment and Skills.

The payments issue was raised last week at a meeting of the STUC’s general council, which is comprised of union representatives.

At one point, staff left the room so that affiliates could discuss matters in private, a session that lasted around two hours.

It is understood unhappiness was expressed about the money Mr Smith had received since 2006 for sitting on boards, the transparency of appointments, as well as the lack of an in-house register of interest.

Others at the meeting said they were not singling out any one individual as previous general secretaries had also sat on external boards.

However, a trade union source said Mr Smith was becoming “marginalised”.

The row also comes amid a debate within the trade union movement over male trade unionists hogging multiple posts.

In a statement to this newspaper, STUC President Lynn Henderson said:

“The STUC engagement with a range of public bodies is reported every year in the General Council report to our Annual Congress. The General Council is currently reviewing our processes and procedures. We are considering how these can be improved to ensure that the considerable influence the trade union movement has on such bodies and on public policy can be further enhanced.

“In serving on public bodies, the General Secretary is following the same practice as his predecessors. I believe that in doing so, the General Secretary is always focused on advancing the interests of unions and working people. Grahame has served as General Secretary for 12 years and is widely respected throughout the trade union movement and wider civil society. During that period the STUC has continued to exert considerable influence over the direction of economic and social policy in Scotland.”