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Andrea Egan

General Secretary Election 2025: who your branch is backing!

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The general secretary is the most senior role in the union. They represent UNISON when talking to the media, other unions, employers and to Parliament. UNISON has to elect its general secretary every five years.

As the largest trade union in the UK, who runs UNISON matters. It matters in the country at large, and it matters in your workplace.

UNISON’s elected General Secretary runs our union, manages its 1,200 staff and ultimately determines the kind of union we are and can become. The General Secretary and their abilities and qualities is the single biggest factor in whether or not UNISON succeeds and wins for you at work and on pay.

There are two candidates in the 2025 election:

  1. Andrea Egan
  2. Christina McAnea

Following a branch committee meeting, discussion and a vote, your branch has decided to nominate Andrea Egan for General Secretary. 

Our Branch is backing Andrea Egan for General Secretary because Andrea:

  • Has a clear plan for successful action on Pay, ending the stagnation of the last fifteen years.
  • Will take the wage of a social worker, not the £181,000 package our current General Secretary receives. Andrea’s pay will go up when yours does.
  • Opposes UNISON’s subservience to Starmer’s Labour. UNISON members will come first, not the Labour Party.
  • Will free up and resource branches so we can better support you, giving you access to legal advice when needed.
  • Has successfully led campaigns to defend Schools and Council terms and conditions.

Andrea Egan
Andrea Egan

How the election works

Voting will be over a 4-week period from Tuesday 28 October to Tuesday 25 November. Ballots will be mailed out by the Post Office from Tuesday 28 October so are likely to arrive any time from a few days to a couple of weeks after this date. 

1.5 million UNISON members – our in-work members plus our Retired members – get a vote in this election, so it is a big exercise, and ballot mailouts are staggered. By law, we cannot allow members to vote electronically, so lookout for your ballot paper which will be posted to your home address.

Inside will be a smaller addressed envelope, with the postage already paid. Vote by placing an X in the box beside your preferred candidate’s name, put the ballot in the envelope and put it in the post box. Simple!

Members are strongly encouraged to use their vote in this important election that comes only once every five years. Make your choice and have your voice heard!

Lambeth libraries strike update

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UNISON members in Lambeth Libraries voted to take strike action due to start this week. 

During negotiations we made excellent progress so the UNISON strike in Lambeth Libraries has been suspended as management have conceded on all of UNISONs “red lines”.

The strike mandate remains live, and UNISON will not officially close the dispute until all agreements are in place.

UNISON launched a trade dispute following the announcement of a restructure in the service, at all members meetings the following red lines were agreed:
 

  • Upgrading lowest graded posts
  • No Compulsory Redundancies
  • Safe and adequate staffing levels across all Registrars, Libraries and Archives 
  • No reduction in working conditions for any staff

During consultation the Council agreed the upgrading of the General Assistants (Porters) and Library Assistants. A timetable has been set for review of pay for the next lowest paid staff in December 2025.

Posts have been reinstated into the structure to avoid redundancy and improve staffing levels. Management have given a commitment to fill vacancies from next week to improve chronic understaffing in the area. There are three staff awaiting interviews for matched posts on Friday and UNISON have committed to call new strike dates if any member of staff is potentially redundant following these.

The Council has maintained terms and conditions, including a last-minute agreement that no staff will be forced to change timetables, that any changes to working patterns can only be implemented with the agreement of the individual staff members.

It is unusual to see union victories against local government cuts, but it is also unusual to see live strike ballots against cuts in local government. The Lambeth Libraries dispute should motivate other groups of workers to fight back collectively against local government austerity.

UNISON Branch Secretary Simon Hannah said:

“We know this has only been possible because staff were determined to stick together and take collective action to protect their jobs and their workmates. Thank you to everyone who did work on reaching the ballot thresholds and preparing pickets. In addition, we have had fantastic support from the local community, with campaigners and Friends of Libraries groups out in the community and at Council meetings.”

Lambeth Assembly – building a better borough 12 April

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Local trade unionists and residents have called a meeting on 12th April to coordinate campaigns against the huge cuts going through Lambeth but also discuss building our vision of a better borough.

Lambeth Council has announced “the worst financial crisis Lambeth has faced”. The Labour Party won the election telling us “no return to austerity” but our services are getting worse not better.

The Council is facing £99 million in cuts. Government housing policy has driven soaring costs of temporary accommodation, this combined with long term underfunding leave councils at breaking point. The proposals include job losses, closing children’s centres, cuts to Early Intervention and Prevention, youth and play services, cuts to adult day centres, and losing £1million from local libraries. (25% of the budget)

Now disability benefits are being slashed to promote ‘growth’. Join us to demand Lambeth Council and the Labour Government improve local services:

• Rebuild public services • Restore real wages and benefits • Tax the rich!

Saturday 12th April

11am – 4pm

St Matthews Tenants Hall, SW2 1ND

Join local trade unionists, residents, climate campaigners and anti-war activists alongside others to build the campaign against local cuts and for a better borough based on fully funded local services, care for the environment and anti racism. Get tickets from Eventbrite here

SPEAKERS TO BE CONFIRMED

Co-sponsored by Lambeth UNISON

Leaflet for 12 AprilDownload

Lambeth Unison and Local Government Pension Scheme Divestment over Palestine

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This motion was passed at our Branch Committee in September 2024

Members of this branch:

● Continue to express our horror and outrage at the Israeli state’s genocidal assault on the Gazan people, intensifying Israel’s barbaric colonisation of Palestine since 1948

● Condemn unequivocally the support given to Israel by the UK government and by the Labour Party leadership;

● Declare our determination to provide practical solidarity with Palestine.

Members of this branch

● Note that £10.4 million of our pension fund is invested in companies that support Israel’s apartheid regime and its genocidal actions, including many companies that supply weapons and military surveillance technology to Israel

● Reject entirely a situation in which our pension fund is being used to finance a genocide, alongside the ongoing colonisation of historic Palestine, especially the West Bank;’

● Note that the union’s national policy on Palestine supports a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel

Members of this branch further resolve, in line with branch policy, to:

● Campaign for BDS in solidarity with Palestine

● Demand that the Council divest itself of all investments in companies linked to Israel, either directly or indirectly through banks and investment funds;

● Call upon other unions whose members have LGPS pensions members to support this demand and to campaign with us for divestment

● Insist upon a meeting with the Council to put forward our demands

● Call for a branch campaign and meeting to support maximum attendance at a lobby of the Pensions Committee meeting happening on the 9th October.

Council and School Pay campaign 2024

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Local government staff keep communities safe, clean and accessible, often for little to no recognition.

Within our 2024 claim, we asked the employers for a pay increase of £3,000 or 10%, whichever was greater. The offer of £1,290 falls far short of this. (The local government employers have made an offer of a flat rate increase of £1,575 for workers in the inner London area and £1,491 for workers in outer London.)

Following a consultation of member, our NJC committee, made up of leading activists, decided that we would proceed with an industrial action ballot.

The ballot opens on Wednesday 4 September and closes at 10:00 on Wednesday 16 October.

Voting for, and taking, industrial action will send a clear message to employers that you need a better pay rise.

We will continue to every means possible to make the employers improve their offer. Read our latest joint union letter to the employers here.

Industrial action FAQs can be found below.

Find out how the offer stacks up against our claim using our pay calculator.

Calculator