Melissa Donnelly was elected the new leader of the Australian labor movement
The Executive Committee of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has elected 44-year-old Melissa Donnelly as the organization’s new secretary and leader of the country’s labor movement. She will succeed Sally McManus, who is stepping down.
Donnelly served as national secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) for seven years. Her election makes Donnelly one of the youngest ACTU secretaries.
McManus and ACTU President Michelle O’Neill announced their intention to step down last month. They led the organization for eight years as the first all-female leadership team in the ACTU’s 99-year history and played a key role in shaping the labor agenda of Anthony Albanese’s government.
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Prior to her union work, Donnelly worked as a lawyer in private practice. At the CPSU, she led a federal court case that enabled public servants to join the nationwide “Your Rights at Work” campaign against the John Howard government’s WorkChoices legislation.
The CPSU stated that under Donnelly’s leadership, union membership grew by 23%. According to the organization, she also advocated for flexible working conditions, including the removal of limits on the number of days of remote work, the introduction of 18 weeks of paid parental leave for both parents, and an end to the government’s outsourcing of work to private consulting firms.
Civil Service Minister Katie Gallagher congratulated Donnelly and called her a tireless advocate for civil servants. McManus stated that Donnelly enjoys broad support within the labor movement.
