Sally McManus (born 31 July 1971) is an Australian trade unionist,
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and political activist who has served as the Secretary of the
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and l ...
(ACTU) since 2017. She is the first woman to hold the position of Secretary in the ACTU’s 90-year history. Prior to becoming Secretary she served as a Vice President and Campaigns Director.
Before joining the ACTU, McManus was the Branch Secretary and an organiser with the Australian Services Union (ASU) in NSW and the ACT.
She has led many campaigns in the private, public and community sectors, including the first collective agreement for IBM workers anywhere in the world, the anti-privatisation campaign at Sydney Water, as well as the equal pay campaign for community workers. This was a seven-year campaign that delivered pay increases of between 18 and 40 per cent for all workers, the vast majority of whom were women.
Early life and background
McManus grew up in
Carlingford, New South Wales
Carlingford () is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Carlingford is 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of City of Parramatta. Carlingford is in the Hill ...
, Australia. She has two younger brothers. At the age of 16, McManus was first involved in union activity when she joined with other students supporting a teachers' strike protest against mass teacher lay-offs by the Greiner Liberal state government in 1988.
Education
McManus went to
Carlingford High School
Carlingford High School is a comprehensive, co-educational government high school located in Carlingford, Sydney, Australia. The school has approximately 1180 enrollments and has achieved top Higher School Certificate scores.
History
The ...
and studied for a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at
Macquarie University
Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of ...
where she graduated with first class honours. At 19, McManus was elected president of the Macquarie University Union. She instituted a ban on smoking in the university bar and banned single-use plastics on campus. Former Deputy Labor Leader, Tanya Plibersek knew McManus during their time at University.
Career
McManus started work when she was 14 and worked as a shop assistant,
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and desse ...
driver, cleaner and call centre worker prior to joining the ACTU’s Trainee Organisers Program in 1994, its first year. From there, she became an Organiser for the Australian Services Union, focusing on workers in call centres and the
IT sector
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system ( ...
. In 2004 she became Branch Secretary of the ASU in NSW and the ACT and oversaw membership grow from 9500 to 12,000.
In 2012, McManus founded the Destroy The Joint campaign formed in response to radio broadcaster Alan Jones' criticism of then Prime Minister
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
and other prominent women. Her activism was recognised in 2015 when she received an Edna Ryan Award in the Grand Stirrer category.
In 2015, McManus moved to the ACTU as Vice-President and Campaigns Director and was ultimately elected ACTU Secretary two years later.
Her first television interview as Secretary sparked controversy, when McManus refused to back down from the use of illegal
industrial action
Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay and to increa ...
as a method of union campaigning. Asked by presenter
Leigh Sales
Leigh Peta Sales (born 10 May 1973) is an Australian journalist and author, best known for her work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.ABC’s news and current affairs program 7.30, if the ACTU would distance itself from such action, McManus responded “There is no way we’ll be doing that,” later adding “I believe in the rule of law when the law is fair and the law is right, but when it’s unjust I don’t think there’s a problem with breaking it.” The statement was widely condemned by business and industry groups, as well as then Liberal Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Turnbull grad ...
, who said he was unlikely to work with her.
In February 2019, her book 'On Fairness' was published by
Melbourne University Publishing
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne.
History
MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself ...
.
In June 2019, McManus called for the resignation of
CFMMEU
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear produc ...
Victorian state secretary John Setka, after he stated he was pleading guilty to
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...
charges.
Prior to the 2019 federal election, McManus led the union movement's "Change the Rules" campaign, which pushed for workplace rights. Rallies were held across the country, with worker and supporter turn-outs reaching over 200,000 across the country.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 January ...
McManus led the successful ACTU campaign for a national wage subsidy scheme, negotiating with the conservative Morrison government to secure the JobKeeper wage subsidy, and campaigned for paid pandemic leave.
market research
Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Ma ...
McManus is an enthusiastic player of computer games, and describes herself as "the definition of a total gamer", who has been playing since the DOS era. She particularly enjoys '' Metal Gear Solid'' on PlayStation, and says her favourite of all is ''
Civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
...
kung-fu
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
and
taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
. She is also a keen
bird watcher
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
and photographer.
McManus is a foundation member of both the
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
and
Greater Western Sydney Giants
The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...
as well as being a long-term supporter of the
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
.
Her portrait titled ''McManusstan'' by Joanna Braithwaite was a finalist in the 2022
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...