ACTU leaders Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil step down after eight years
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is set for a leadership change as its secretary, Sally McManus, and president, Michele O’Neil, announced their resignations on Monday night. The pair, who have led the peak body for nearly a decade, said they were stepping down to "make way for a new generation".
McManus, who has been secretary since 2017, will finish in her role at the end of August. O’Neil, president since 2018, will depart before the end of the year to "assist with the leadership transition". Their replacements are yet to be decided, according to an ACTU statement, which noted that union affiliates will determine the next leadership team through an election at next year’s Congress, coinciding with the ACTU’s 100th anniversary.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described McManus and O’Neil as personal friends and "giants of the labour movement", thanking them for their "tireless advocacy" for workers. In a statement, he said working families are in a stronger financial position today because of their leadership, noting significant wage increases in critical sectors, a record low gender pay gap, and growing union membership for the first time in decades.
The pair were the first all-female leadership team in the ACTU’s 99-year history. During their tenure, they played a major role in shaping the Albanese government’s workplace agenda, successfully campaigning for the right to disconnect law, same job same pay protections, wage theft criminalisation, and minimum pay, insurance and safety standards for gig economy workers.
Speaking to ABC radio’s RN Breakfast, O’Neil said it was the "right time" to leave. McManus echoed that sentiment, saying she was proud of the movement’s achievements and that it had been an honour to serve working people for nearly a decade.
The ACTU recently began targeting Pauline Hanson, signalling that the union movement now considers One Nation a bigger political threat than the Coalition. McManus noted ongoing challenges, including cost-of-living pressures, artificial intelligence, and the concentration of wealth among billionaires.
Albanese also acknowledged the personal support the pair had given him, saying it was fitting they stepped down at a time of such progress for working people.