ANDREA Egan has been elected general secretary of the UK's biggest trade union.
In a surprise result, she beat Christina McAnea (below), who has been leader of Unison since 2021.
She will begin her five-year term of office representing public service workers next month.
She won 58,579 votes compared with 39,353 for McAnea.
The winner is on the left of the Labour movement and has been critical of the Government since it came to office last year.
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Egan, a social worker and the secretary Unison’s local government branch in Bolton, had pledged to end the public sector union’s “subservience” to the Labour Party.
Egan said: “This result means ordinary Unison members are at long last taking charge of our union.
“We will put faith in members’ decisions and stand up to any employer, politician or Cabinet minister who acts against our interests.
“Together, we will turn Unison into the remarkable force for change it should be. That journey has begun today.”
Earlier this year she told The National: “[Labour have] not only failed working-class people but in effect are attacking the working conditions and rights of working-class people.”
Egan’s manifesto said she would review the union’s links with Labour if she won and was clear that this could result in ending its links with the party entirely.
She also said she would draw her social workers salary of £50,000 and donate the excess from the general secretary’s salary to the union’s welfare and strike funds.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer responded to the news this morning saying: “Congratulations to Andrea Egan on her election as general secretary of Unison. I look forward to working with her.
“A huge thank you to Christina McAnea for her outstanding contribution to the Labour and trade union movement.
“She played an important role in securing the landmark Employment Rights Bill and her work has ensured this Labour Government will bring in a fair pay agreement to boost the wages of social care workers.”
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Mainstream, which is a supporter of Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (below), said: “This result shows clearly that vast swathes of Labour’s historic coalition feel the Government has fallen out of step with its mainstream.
“By working hand in hand with our partners in the trade union movement, the Labour Party has ushered in huge advances for working people before and it can do so again – but only if the party rediscovers its progressive instincts.
“We look forward to working with Andrea and all those who share our commitment to a more open Labour Party with the energy and ideas to transform the country.”
Hollie Ridley, general secretary of the Labour Party, heaped fulsome praise on McAnea for her “immeasurable work” standing up for workers. She said that the outgoing Unison chief’s “steely determination” was instrumental in passing Labour’s “historic” new employment rights laws.
Ridley said that the party would continue working “shoulder to shoulder” with McAnea.
She added: “I would also like to pass on my congratulations and best wishes to Andrea Egan on her election as the next general secretary of Unison – I look forward to working with her as the Labour government continues to deliver the change people voted for last year.”
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