Melissa Donnelly is the National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), an Australian trade union with coverage of more than 150,000 Commonwealth and Territory Public Servants, as well as those in the Northern Territory Public Service and the ACT Public Service..[1][2] Donnelly is the CPSU's youngest ever national secretary, as well as the third woman and the first working mother to hold the role.[3]

Melissa Donnelly speaking at a CPSU Governing Council Meeting
CPSU National Secretary Melissa Donnelly speaking at a CPSU Governing Council Meeting

Donnelly was first elevated to the role, following tenure in the union's legal and industrial relations team and its Executive Committee, when former National Secretary Nadine Flood resigned for health reasons in 2019.[4][5] Donnelly was most recently reelected to the position in December 2023.[6]

Under Donnelly's leadership of the union, its membership has grown by 8%,[7] bucking broader trends in the Australian trade union movement of declining membership since the 1980s[8]

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Donnelly was responsible for championing a "groundbreaking" working-from-home deal with the Australian Public Sector Commission in 2023 which allows public sector employees to seek unlimited working from home flexibility arrangements.[9][10][11]

References

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  1. ^ "CPSU Media centre". www.cpsu.org.au. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  2. ^ Tribune, The National (2019-10-10). "New CPSU National Secretary appointed". The National Tribune. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  3. ^ Director, Institute; giwl@anu.edu.au (2021-06-04). "Melissa Donnelly". Global Institute for Women's Leadership. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  4. ^ Easton, Stephen (2019-10-10). "Melissa Donnelly appointed acting Community and Public Sector Union national secretary". The Mandarin. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  5. ^ "'Expect us to be a champion': CPSU appoints youngest ever national secretary". The Canberra Times. 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  6. ^ "CPSU 'voted for unity' with national president chosen". The Canberra Times. 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  7. ^ "CPSU Operating Report 2022-23". CPSU Governance.
  8. ^ "Union membership slumps to a new low". Australian Financial Review. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  9. ^ "Work-from-home deal 'groundbreaking', but business groups warn of CBD 'death knell'". ABC News. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  10. ^ "Public sector agrees to uncapped WFH days". Australian Financial Review. 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  11. ^ Thompson, Angus (2023-04-09). "The WFH deal that challenges the future of office culture". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-02-02.