John McDonnell (born 1943) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader. Born in

Mallow, County Cork Mallow (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately thirty-five kilometres north of Cork. Mallow is in the barony of Fermoy. It is the administrative centre of north County Cork, and the Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Coun ...

, McDonnell began working in the local Érin Foods factory. He joined the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin in January 1909 as a general union. Initially drawing its memb ...

(ITGWU), and in 1974 was elected as secretary of his local branch. He focused on supporting union members in the food processing, local authority and health industries, and gradually came to national prominence. In his spare time, he completed a degree in economic and history with

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

. The ITGWU became part of

SIPTU SIPTU (; ''Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union''; ga, An Ceardchumann Seirbhísí, Tionsclaíoch, Gairmiúil agus Teicniúil) is Ireland's largest trade union, with around 200,000 members. Most of these members are in the Rep ...

in 1990, and McDonnell was appointed as its south west regional officer, the largest region in the union. McDonnell stood to become general secretary of SIPTU in 1997, defeating Brendan Hayes and Carolann Duggan. Along with Hayes, he was considered part of the "mainstream" of the union. The first leader of SIPTU to be elected when not living in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, McDonnell benefited from an 80% turnout among members in his south west region, but also won in some other areas, such as many Dublin branches. As leader, McDonnell prioritised expanding the

social partnership Social partnership ( ga, Pairtíocht sóisialta) is the term used for the tripartite, triennial national pay agreements reached in Ireland. The process was initiated in 1987, following a period of high inflation and weak economic growth which le ...

programme, believing that the unions could win more concessions, such as a £5

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

and mandatory union recognition. Because SIPTU, at the time, expected leaders to retire when they reached the age of sixty, he committed from the start to serving a single five-year term. In 2001, McDonnell was additionally elected as treasurer of the

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union centr ...

(ICTU). After retiring from his union posts in 2003, the ICTU nominated him to serve on the board of

Fáilte Ireland Fáilte Ireland is the operating name of the National Tourism Development Authority of the Republic of Ireland. This authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act of 2003 and replaces and builds upon the functions ...

, the tourism development agency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell, John 1943 births Living people Irish trade unionists People from Mallow, County Cork