Labour Research August 2011

Union news

UNISON elections

Public services union UNISON has broken new ground in elections for its top two lay posts. Eleanor Smith is the first black woman to be elected president of the union, while Maureen Le Marinel is the first gay woman to be the union’s vice-president.

Smith said that tackling inequality is more important than ever “now that Tory-led cuts are driving a wedge through local communities”.