Dave Prentis re-elected as general secretary

By a large majority, members of public services union UNISON have re-elected Dave Prentis as general secretary in a three-way contest.

Prentis collected over 100,000 more votes than his nearest rivals — Roger Bannister, branch secretary of Knowsley, Merseyside. Paul Holmes, Kirklees branch secretary, was the only other candidate.

Prentis, who has been UNISON’s general secretary since January 2001, said it was “a vote of confidence in the union and the direction that we have been taking over the past few years.”

And as for the tough times ahead for the public sector, he said: “Under the coalition government, public services face an onslaught on a scale unprecedented since Thatcher was prime minister. The government is pressing ahead with cuts to public services, to our members’ jobs, pay and pensions, with complete disregard to the serious social consequences.

“Together we will stand up for quality public services, for the hardworking people that provide them, and for the poor, the sick and vulnerable people who rely on them for support.”

www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=1900