By George Binette

Nearly 100 people packed into a London church hall on 15th January, with dozens more online, for the kick-off of Andrea Egan’s campaign to become General Secretary of UNISON, Britain’s largest union. Former Shadow Chancellor and currently suspended Labour MP John McDonnell, who is himself a UNISON member, chaired the event.

Ms Egan is the secretary of the union’s Bolton local government branch and currently sits on its national executive council. She also served as UNISON’s president for 2022-23, backed by the union’s left umbrella group, Time for Real Change. A qualified social worker, Egan pledged that, if elected, she would accept no more than her social worker’s salary. The remainder of the General Secretary’s £166,000 annual pay package would go back to UNISON’s welfare and industrial action funds.

A long-standing Labour Party member, who was expelled, ostensibly over social media posts, Egan stressed that she would “put UNISON [members] first and Labour second,” warning that the constant talk of “difficult decisions” from Labour’s front bench was code for “robbing the working class.” Her wide-ranging speech was sharply critical both of Labour’s leadership and the union’s own, for enabling the Party’s rightward march. She also condemned Israeli war crimes and pledged support to the Palestinian people and workers in struggle internationally.

Egan also promised to strengthen the role of the union’s lay activists and to pour more of its resources into branch-level activity as part of UNISON’s “Organising to Win” strategy, which saw a substantial upturn in the union’s membership between autumn 2023 and ’24 with a net gain of more than 40,000 members.

By law, an election for the General Secretary’s role must take place this year, though the union has yet to confirm a timetable for the campaign. Andrea looks set to emerge as the sole left-wing challenger, while there is uncertainty whether pro-Starmer incumbent Christina McAnea will stand for re-election. 

Meanwhile, the biennial process of electing a National Executive Council is underway with nominations for some 70 seats open until Friday 14th February with the Time for Real Change group battling to enhance its current slender majority.

George Binette is a former Camden UNISON branch secretary, vice-chair of Camden Trades Council and former Trade Union Liaison Officer of Hackney North & Stoke Newington CLP.