New head of Australian trade union movement named after Sally McManus steps down

Melissa Donnelly led the Community and Public Sector Union for seven years before taking on the role of ACTU secretary after Sally McManus’s resignation. Photograph: ACTU

Melissa Donnelly, the national secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, will take on the role as the next head of the trade movement in Australia, after the resignation of Sally McManus.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions’ secretary and its president, Michele O’Neil, revealed last month they would be stepping down after eight years together as the first all-female leadership team in the ACTU’s 99-year history, playing a major role in shaping the Albanese government’s workplace agenda.