ACTU leadership to quit this year
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The news: ACTU secretary Sally McManus and president Michele O’Neil will step down this year to make way for a new leadership team.
McManus will leave at the end of August, while O’Neil will remain until later in the year to help smooth the transition.
The context: The pair are the second-longest-serving leadership team in the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ history, having been elected in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
They told reporters a new generation of leaders was needed to respond to artificial intelligence, growing support for far-right politics and falling living standards caused by inflation.
ABS data shows the proportion of Australian employees who are union members has fallen from about 15% when McManus and O’Neil took office to about 13% in 2024, although that was up slightly from a record low of 12.5% in 2022.
What’s next: National union secretaries will discuss interim replacements at an executive meeting on Tuesday, the AFR reported. The appointees will hold the positions until elections are held at the ACTU congress next year.
The sources: Sydney Morning Herald, AFR
