Siptu chief O’Connor about to step down
SIPTU president Jack O’Connor will tell members next week that he’s retiring at the end of the year.
Delegates at the union’s conference in Cork next Tuesday will hear that the union structure will be changed next year, with general secretary Joe O’Flynn appointing a successor and national head of organising Joe Cunningham in line to be the new general secretary.
Under new structures, there will be just one chief holding the general secretary job instead of the current ‘triumvirate’ or three equal chiefs.
The current president and vicepresident positions, filled by Jack O’Connor and Gene Mealy, will become honorary roles, with a requirement that the new president or vice-president positions must be filled by a man and a woman. Mr O’Connor has been the union’s president since 2003.
Union sources indicate that the three new deputy general secretaries will be Gerry McCormick, John King and Ethel Buckley. They are currently divisional organisers, the second stage of Siptu management, on basic salaries of €84,140.
Delegates in Cork will also receive copies of the union’s 2016 annual report. It shows that membership has grown slightly to 203,000 members. Average employment costs for the union’s 308 staff came to €475,600 last year, with average basic pay at €44,133. The union’s top 40 officials have basic pay of between €72,000 and €108,000.
The three top officials had basic salaries of €108,400, while their average total costs including pensions came to €173,555.