Union movement farewells Ross Wilson

200 delegates at the CTU biennial conference in Wellington this afternoon paid tribute to outgoing CTU president Ross Wilson.

CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said “Ross has been spectacularly successful in unifying the New Zealand union movement and leading a positive, constructive and active union agenda.”

“In all Ross’ work at the CTU, whether it is in health and safety, wage campaigns, international representation, the state sector or Maori economic development, he has been a very effective advocate for working people in this country.”

Today the conference elected Helen Kelly as new CTU president.  CTU secretary Carol Beaumont and vice president Maori Sharon Clair were re-elected, and Richard Wagstaff was elected vice president.

Ends.

Ross has been president of the CTU since 1999, after 8 years as CTU vice president.  He had worked for two decades prior to 1999 with rail and maritime workers, with involvement in the National Union of Railway Workers, the Harbour Workers’ Union and the 1995 amalgamation of several rail and port unions into the Rail and Maritime Transport Union, which Ross was the first General Secretary of, a role he held until taking up the CTU presidency.