Incoming ICTU boss lays out three key guiding principles

The incoming general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has identified fair pay and conditions, collective bargaining and respect for workers as the three principles which will govern her tenure.

Patricia King, the first woman to take up the post of ICTU general secretary in its 121-year history, succeeds David Begg in the role.

The Wicklow native said she was honoured to be appointed to the role. She paid tribute to David Begg saying he had led ICTU in “extraordinary times and circumstances and had shown exceptional leadership”.

“I am conscious that the movement is losing a really effective leader,” she added.

The general secretary designate said she would be governed by three clear princples when she takes up the post.

“Every worker is entitled to enjoy fair pay and decent conditions; all workers should be entitled to negotiate collectively with their employer without fear and every worker is entitled to be treated with respect,” she said.

“I think youth and young people generally have been let down and hit particularly hard in recent years and that is another area that has to be addressed.”

Mr Begg welcomed the news and said ICTU was “very fortunate to have someone of such calibre and wide experience” to lead the movement.

Ms King was a full-time official with Siptu for over 25 years and was the first woman to serve as a national officer of the union when she was appointed vice-president in May 2010.

She has represented workers in all areas of the economy, in both the public and private sectors.

Patricia was a lead negotiator in both the Croke Park and Haddington Road agreements and is a member of the National Oversight Body tasked with implementation of the latter agreement.

She is also credited with playing a leading role in the Irish Ferries dispute in 2005/6 and in subsequent negotiations that saw an overhaul of employment rights law and the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority.

She currently serves on the boards of Pobal and the Dublin Airport Authority and was recently appointed to the board of the Apprenticeship Council.

Siptu president Jack O’Connor congratulated Ms King saying she was eminently qualified to assume the role.

“Patricia has served in virtually every capacity in the trade union movement from shop floor activist, trade union organiser, advocate and negotiator,” he said.

“During her years with SIPTU she has represented the union in many tough and intractable disputes. She has always been held in the highest regard at all levels in Siptu and commanded respect from employers, government and in the wider public domain.”