Owen Reidy (born 1972) is an Irish trade union leader, elected in 2022 as the general secretary, the chief officer, of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Life

Born 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 ...

, Reidy is the grandson of the trade unionist

Stephen McGonagle Stephen McGonagle (17 November 1914 – 4 March 2002) was a Northern Irish and Irish trade unionist. Born in Derry, Ireland, McGonagle worked as a plumber.Andrew Finlay, ''Saothar'', Vol. 27, pp.10-12, Irish Labour History Society He joined the D ...

. Reidy's family moved to

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

in 1977, and he grew up in

Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a historical village in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was later divided into the baronies of R ...

Dunfanaghy Dunfanaghy () is a small town, former fishing port, and commercial centre on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay, on the N56 road (the West Donegal Coas ...

and

Moville Moville (; ) is a coastal town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland, close to the northern tip of the island of Ireland. It is the first coastal town of the Wild Atlantic Way when starting on the northern end. Location ...

. He attended

Carndonagh Community School Carndonagh Community School ( ga, Pobalscoil Charn Domhnaigh) is a secondary school located in Carndonagh, County Donegal, Ireland. History Carndonagh Community School was formed in 1972 by the merger of Carndonagh College (a local boys' schoo ...

, and then studied history and politics at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

Career

After graduating, Reidy found work as an organiser for the

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 ...

union, for various groups of private sector workers in the West of Ireland. In 2013, he became one of the union's five divisional organisers, covering the Transport, Energy, Aviation and Construction Division. In 2016, Reidy moved to become deputy general secretary 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), to which SIPTU is affiliated. In this role, he led the federation's response to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

and the cost of living crisis. In 2022, Reidy was elected as general secretary of the ICTU. On election, he listed his priorities as strengthening

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

, increasing membership of the trade union movement, and giving workers a greater voice in society and the economy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reidy, Owen Living people 1972 births Alumni of University College Dublin Irish trade unionists People from County Donegal