Unison general secretary election: chance to turn union around
Take on Starmer’s government: Vote Andrea Egan
April Ashley, Unison NEC member, personal capacity
The public sector union Unison is in the midst of electing a new general secretary to head the union for the next five years.
The two contenders are the current general secretary, Keir Starmer supporter Christina McAnea, and left challenger Andrea Egan, part of the Time For Real Change (TFRC) group in Unison.
The election comes as Starmer’s government is continuing Tory austerity in the public sector. So far that has left members suffering a 25% real-terms pay cut, thousands of job losses, the decimation of local council services, and continuing privatisation and crisis in the NHS. Rachel Reeves’s 26 November Budget promising yet more austerity comes the day after the general secretary election closes.
Members are angry that the cost-of-living crisis continues to ravage living standards without a serious national fightback by Unison, which claims to be the biggest union in the UK with 1.3 million members.
This election gives the opportunity to challenge the right-wing union leadership, which still supports the hated Labour Party that attacked pensioners’ winter fuel allowance and disability benefits. Outrage forced a retreat, but the government is still maintaining the two-child benefit cap, forcing more working families, including Unison members, into poverty.
And apart from a few mealy mouthed comments, Christina McAnea is firmly wedded to partnership working with Starmer’s Labour and promoting the Employment Rights Bill as the best thing since sliced bread. However, the promised repeal of the 2016 Trade Union Act with the undemocratic 50% ballot threshold for strike action has yet to be delivered. This has held back national strike action in local government and health pay campaigns.
Socialist Party members in Unison are supporting Andrea Egan, who says that if elected she will take the wage of a social worker and refuse the “eye-watering £181,000 salary package the current general secretary takes home.”
If Andrea wins, it will be a sign to Keir Starmer that the union is going to change; that members want it to stand up to the government and employers.
She says she is angry that “Unison keeps funding and propping up the very same politicians who make our lives worse.” Therefore, she says, she will launch a comprehensive review of the union’s relationship with the Labour Party.
The Socialist Party is campaigning for a review of Unison’s political funds. A meeting in August of Unison members for a new party launched a petition to campaign amongst members on this issue.
Only 16% of Unison members pay into the Labour Link fund
We note that the 2025 Unison annual report stated that only 16% of members paid into the Labour Link fund. This clearly shows that affiliation to Labour is no longer a ‘fundamental aim and objective’ for Unison members.
800,000 people registered an interest in the announcement of a new party by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. ‘Your Party’ is now organising regional assemblies and a founding conference later this month. It is more important than ever for Unison members to campaign for our union to engage in this process at all levels, to fight for a new working class-based party; to break with pro-austerity Labour and back only those political candidates and parties who clearly support Unison policies.
Workers are furious about the cost-of-living crisis and Labour’s betrayal of working people. The racist Reform party has taken control of ten councils. There is a £4 billion gap in local council funding, with 30 councils requiring ‘exceptional support’ to avoid going effectively bankrupt. Local councils, whether Labour or Tory-controlled, continue to implement austerity cuts. The Socialist Party calls for councils to implement no-cuts budgets to protect jobs and services, and has called on Andrea Egan to make this a key part of her general secretary campaign.
