Moderate elected general secretary of Ireland's largest trade union

The 200,000 members of Ireland's largest trade union, SIPTU, elected a "moderate" new general secretary in April 1998 following the retirement of Bill Attley, one of the country's most influential union leaders of the past decade.

When the votes were counted on 12 April 1998 in the election for a new general secretary, it emerged that members of the Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) had elected John McDonnell, the first non-Dubliner to assume the post, ahead of his closest challenger, Brendan Hayes. With some 200,000 members, SIPTU is Ireland's largest trade union. Cork-born Mr McDonnell, a political moderate, replaces the influential Bill Attley, who also served as president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and was a key figure in devising the trade union strategy to re-enter tripartite national agreements in 1987.

Mr McDonnell, who had been SIPTU south west regional secretary since 1990, secured almost 49,408 first-preference votes compared with 36,706 for Mr Hayes - another moderate "establishment" candidate - and 24,842 for the far-left Socialist Workers Party (SWP) activist, Carolann Duggan. Mr McDonnell was elected on the second count under the proportional representation system, when he received 8,743 of Ms Duggan's preferences compared with 12,138 for Mr Hayes, giving him a final victory margin of 9,307.

The total valid poll was over 110,000 votes. Mr Hayes, regional secretary (Dublin) public sector, received 33% of first preferences. The distribution of second preferences pushed him up to 44% of the total vote, which leaves him well positioned for the next major SIPTU election. He will not have to wait long as the union president, Jimmy Somers, is due to step down within the next two years.

Meanwhile, Ms Duggan, the SWP candidate who secured a huge 42% of the vote when running head-to-head against Mr Somers for the presidency in April 1997 (IE9704211N), will doubtless be disappointed. She also secured around 20% when running against former Democratic Left MEP, Des Geraghty, for the vice-presidency post in a five-person contest in September 1997 (IE9709230N). Her vote may well have peaked, although it is evident that there remains a strong protest vote within the union, which most commentators agree indicates a certain level of disenchantment with national pay bargaining (IE9710104F).

The top three SIPTU posts - president, general secretary and vice-president - are roughly equal in status. This is due to internal historical factors, which has the effect of the union being led by a troika rather than by one particular individual.