Ei-iE

Education International welcomes the election of education unionist Sally Hunt to the helm of the Trades Union Congress.

Sally Hunt will serve as president for a year and preside over the Trades Union Congress (TUC) 150th Anniversary Congress in Manchester in September 2018. In addition, she will also chair the TUC’s general council and executive committee.

“It is a huge honour to become the president of the TUC, especially as it prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Trade unions are a force for good and exist to support their members,” Hunt stressed, as she proudly reminded that her background is education, “which I believe offers the best route for people to control their life and fulfil their potential”.

She went on to note that “as we attempt to deal with Brexit, making sure people have a chance to learn new skills has never been more important, and I see unions leading the way in opening up those opportunities.”

A relentless education advocate

Hunt has two decades of experience as a senior trade union official. Since June 2007 she has been General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), an Education International (EI) member organisation, following the merger of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education.

Her first job in the trade union movement was as a senior research officer with the financial trade union now known as Accord. Following that, Hunt was an assistant general secretary of the Nationwide Group Staff Union. In 1995 she joined the AUT as an assistant general secretary. She was elected general secretary of the AUT in 2002.