Overview
- The ACTU announced on Monday that secretary Sally McManus will leave at the end of August and president Michele O'Neil will depart before the end of 2026 to make way for a new generation of leaders.
- McManus said threats linked to the 2024 CFMEU scandal and a required cochlear implant operation influenced her decision and led her to accept police safety advice and change her movements during the dispute.
- Under McManus and O'Neil the ACTU helped secure major workplace laws with the Albanese government, including multi-employer bargaining, stronger protections for gig and labour-hire workers, and criminal wage-theft measures.
- The ACTU placed divisions of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union into administration after reporting organised-crime infiltration, and McManus supports keeping the CFMEU in administration until it is cleaned up.
- Union membership has fallen over decades to about 13 percent in 2024 and the staggered resignations leave successors with two clear tasks: rebuild membership among younger and private-sector workers and restore trust and governance across the movement.