𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The new hard-left leader of Britain’s biggest trade union has suggested she could spark mass walk-outs next year that would cripple the economy. Writing in the Guardian, Unison chief Andrea Egan hailed her election victory as a “huge opening” for forcing radical change.

She condemned some at the top of the Labour movement for contributing to the decline of workers’ rights and furthering Margaret Thatcher’s “blows” against the union movement. Ms Egan, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2022, said she is putting all employers “on notice”, including Wes Streeting’s Department of Health and Social Care. She vowed to use Unison’s size and resources “without hesitation” to win concessions for its members, including a threat to scale up its organising.

Threatening to lead mass public sector strikes in 2026, she writes: “We are the biggest and best-resourced union in the country; there’s no reason for us not to be among the most industrially formidable.

“This will include a wide-ranging strategic review of taking strike action across the labour movement, leading to our adoption of the best methods to win.

“I will also launch a new strike-ready conference, convening workplace reps from across Unison to forge new organising approaches in the fight for better pay.”

Unison represents millions of workers in the public sector, including teachers, NHS workers and local government staff.

Ms Egan won the Unison election earlier this week, ousting the incumbent centrist Christina McAnea.

Her victory was perceived as another major blow for Keir Starmer, whose party has benefited from millions in donations from the union.

Unison’s new leader has pledged to launch a “comprehensive review” of the union’s relationship with Labour, and withdraw funding from Labour MPs who “fail to stand against welfare cuts and other attacks on members’ living standards and policies”.

She has also spoken positively about Jeremy Corbyn’s new Your Party, warning that many Unison members will “see the possibility of a viable alternative to Labour for the first time”.

She also issued a fresh demand for Keir Starmer to “act now” over the Palestine Action hunger strikers.

And she pointed to the potential of a Labour leadership election next year, warning that swapping Keir Starmer for Wes Streeting “or anyone else from the right wing of the party would be no solution to the gigantic challenges facing the country”. 

“What’s needed is a radical change in approach based on the labour movement’s core values.”