CTU Elects New Vice-President

The general secretary of the Association of University Staff, Helen Kelly, has been elected unopposed as vice-president of the Council of Trade Unions, CTU president Ross Wilson announced today.

Helen Kelly, 39, will take over the role from Darien Fenton at the CTU Biennial Conference next month.

Ross Wilson and Carol Beaumont have been re-elected unopposed as CTU president and secretary respectively.

Helen Kelly has worked as an organiser for AUS and for the teachers’ union, NZEI, in the early childhood sector. She became the general secretary of AUS in June last year, and has also held senior positions within NZEI, where she played a prominent role in the pay parity campaign for kindergarten and primary teachers.

She is now one of four union representatives on the Government’s Pay and Employment Equity Taskforce.

“Helen is a very able young leader and brings valuable state sector union experience to the CTU leadership,” Ross Wilson said. “With Carol Beaumont she represents a new generation of leadership for the union movement.”

Darien Fenton, who is also the national secretary of the Service and Food Workers Union, stepped down after holding the post of CTU vice-president for four years.

“The CTU acknowledges the strong contribution which Darien Fenton has made to its leadership over the past four years, particularly as the advocate for lower paid workers in the private sector,” Ross Wilson said.

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