Elected in January 2026 with 60% of the membership vote, Andrea Egan, worked as a residential care worker, supporting vulnerable children, before qualifying as a social worker fifteen years ago. She will hold the role of General Secretary for 5 years.

UNISON, is also the largest trade union in Orkney, representing hundreds of local government workers who provide a range of services in our community.

The Orkney News interviewed the General Secretary on Tuesday morning. She explained that as a public service trade union, UNISON members, “are the ones that are delivering services to communities and they are also community members.

“I think one of the biggest challenges that Orkney will face is the funding issue. ” And she continued:

“Governments, successive governments have cut funding over the last two decades to all local authorities or public sector services and we’re seeing a real deficit in our communities.

“Orkney will have additional challenges because of the geographical spread and everybody deserves good public services.

“So, the challenge for our members and for the community is the maintaining of good, decent community services.

“The challenge for the local council is to ensure that they have the money and the money spent in the right places. Clearly, they’ve only got the money they’ve got.”

She said that the greater challenge was for trade union leaders to demand that the governments fund fairly all local authorities and all public provision providers.

Asked if she would be meeting with representatives of the Scottish Government to discuss the challenges and funding solutions, Andrea Egan explained that UNISON in Scotland has it own officers who are currently speaking with Scottish Government Ministers. However, she added:

“I think you can’t get away from the fact that Westminster provides the money then to the devolved nations. So, it will be a twin-track approach that we’ll take. I personally may or may not speak to the Ministers but we do have a team up here in Scotland.”

The Orkney branch of UNISON have supported the vigils for peace in Gaza since the very first one was held at the end of October 2023. They are the only trade union in Orkney which has done so.

The General Secretary set out very clearly the international dimension of the campaigning work UNISON does. She explained:

“Unison has its own international section and I really do feel it’s important. Our membership is internationally made up of workers that have migrated from other countries and are providing some of the services within public sector.

“And I think we’ve got to consider the role of government in international affairs. They have a responsibility whether that’s providing companies here in the UK with the facilities and the options to provide arms to places like Israel, etc.

“I think very much the union, all unions should have a position on what is happening internationally, especially in Palestine.”

She explained that UNISON are currently campaigning to divest their pensions.

“You know, we’ve seen a genocide unfold.

“We are campaigning at the moment to divest our pensions, our public sector members pensions from companies that are supporting the genocide in Gaza.”

The General Secretary was to attend a meeting of local members in the evening before travelling onward to Shetland.

You can watch the interview with the General Secretary on The Orkney News YouTube channel, click this link:

Fiona Grahame

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