Are you sure you didnt pick him up wrong? I've done some public service interviews in the past (and turned down a couple of PS jobs) and sat on a couple of interview panels in a former life - usually 3 person panel - 2 public servants and 1 independent external person. 2 ask questions and the other takes note, but doesnt ask questions. They usually rotate the note taking between the 3 people. The note takers are not union representatives. Whereas I have come across some unorthodox stuff done by the public servants on a couple of ocassions, I never came across any union interference. Under no circumstances would a union rep ever be allowed to sit in on an interview, not even as an observer, or even talk to candidates beforehand. To be honest, there is a tendency in the public service to automatically appoint people who's interviews have been "polluted" because the public service is paranoid about lawsuits - I would imagine if anyone complained that a union rep was in the room, they would be offered a job to prevent a lawsuit. Easy way to find out who is in the room - you can FOI the notes and they'll tell you. I havent sat on any interviews in the past 6-7 years - have moved onto other things - so unless there has been a drastic change in rules in the meantime, this must be one of those urban legends.