First woman general secretary takes to the helm of retail union

The Usdaw retail union has elected its first woman general secretary in Joanne Thomas.

Thomas, who took over leading the 360,000-member union from Paddy Lillis who retired in July, was the only candidate to secure the necessary nominations and was therefore elected unopposed.

Previously the union’s regional secretary for the North East, she first became an Usdaw workplace rep while working for the Makro cash and carry group. She subsequently became an Usdaw area organiser in Newcastle and has served on the Labour Party’s national executive council.

She said she was “proud to be the first woman elected to this role”, and that it was “a great honour to be elected the general secretary of Usdaw, the trade union I have been a member of all my working life”.

The union also elected Rab Donnelly as deputy general secretary. Donelly takes over the post from Dave McCrossen.

The election for leader of the UNISON public services union, the UK’s biggest union, gets under way from late October.

At the time of going to press, two candidates had thrown their hats into the ring — the incumbent, Christina McAnea, and social worker Andrea Egan who was the union’s president in 2022.

The ballot opens on 28 October and runs until 25 November.

The results will be announced on 17 December 2025.