Prime Minister lauds Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil as towering figures amid their departures

The leadership of Australia’s trade union movement is poised for a significant transformation following the announcement that the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ secretary and president will be stepping down.

Sally McManus, the ACTU’s secretary, and Michele O’Neil, its president, disclosed on Monday evening that they will vacate their positions after eight years of service.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese characterized them as both personal friends and towering figures in the labour movement.

As the first all‑female leadership team in the ACTU’s 99‑year history, the duo has been instrumental in shaping the Albanese government’s workplace policies.

They successfully championed the right‑to‑disconnect legislation, same‑job‑same‑pay safeguards, criminalisation of wage theft, and the establishment of minimum pay, insurance and safety standards for gig workers.

The ACTU has recently turned its focus toward Pauline Hanson, signalling that the union movement now views One Nation, rather than the Coalition, as the principal political threat to Labor and a risk to workers’ economic security.

McManus is scheduled to leave in August, while O’Neil will assist in onboarding her successor before stepping down at year‑end.

In a farewell video posted to social media on Monday night, they said the time had come for renewal.

“Union membership continues to grow and workers now enjoy more than 47 new workplace rights,” McManus said. “Nonetheless, significant challenges remain, including cost‑of‑living pressures, the impact of AI, and the concentration of wealth and power among billionaires.”

In a statement, the Prime Minister said the tireless advocacy and strong leadership of McManus and O’Neil have placed working families in a financially stronger position than they might otherwise have achieved.

“It is fitting that Sally and Michele announce their departures at a time when significant wage increases have been secured in critical, long‑undervalued sectors, the gender pay gap has reached a record low, and union membership is rising for the first time in decades,” Albanese said.

Speaking on ABC Radio on Tuesday morning, O’Neil said the pair had a strong mutual trust and that the union remains in good shape.

O’Neil ruled out a career in politics but declined to disclose her next steps.

“I need to take a moment to breathe. I know more about what I won’t do than what I will, and that’s acceptable,” she said.

“I’m very happy to take some time to think about it.”

Greens leader Larissa Waters described them as a “powerful duo” and “strong voices for workers.”

“The union movement is strongest when it is bold, independent, and puts workers’ rights ahead of vested interests. Sally and Michele have embodied that spirit, driving the Albanese Labor government to impose a minimum 25 % tax on gas exports and to take action on the housing crisis,” she said.

“We are entering what could be the most challenging period for Australian workers in recent history.”

“It will be the task of the ACTU’s new leadership to hold governments to account, demand fair livelihoods for workers, and refuse to allow political parties to tinker with or capitulate to vested interests.”

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