Executive Ged Kearney - President Gerardine (Ged) Kearney commenced as ACTU President on 1 July 2010, and is the third woman to hold the position following the departure of Sharan Burrow to the Brussels-based position of General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. Ged believes that unions should not just be concerned with the experience of people at work but they should be advocates for change to improve all aspects of Australians lives. She wants to ensure that unions continue to be at the forefront of public debate in Australia. Ged’s ambition as ACTU President is to build respect from political leaders and the broad community for the values of fairness and role played by unions in delivering social change so that people feel the need to join. Ged was elected the Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation in April 2008. The ANF represents more than 200,000 nurses and midwives, and is one of Australia’s fastest growing unions. She had been an elected official with the ANF since 1997, also serving as Assistant Federal Secretary, Federal President and Victorian Branch President. Ged became a registered nurse in 1985, and has worked in many settings across the public and private acute sectors, predominantly in Melbourne, and has also been a nursing educator, including manager of the Clinical Nursing Education Department at Austin Health. She has a Bachelor in Education. As Federal Secretary, Ged saw substantial membership growth of the ANF and the first national combined strategic growth campaign in the private sector aged care industry. Her background in nursing and industrial experience advanced the profession and industrial rights of ANF members. In collaboration with ANF branches in every state and territory, Ged has worked to improve the working lives and conditions of dedicated nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing throughout Australia. Ged now strives to improve the working lives and conditions for all Australian workers. Ged is a director of CBUS Super Fund. The second youngest of nine children, Ged grew up in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond, where her father was a publican. She was brought up in a household where the importance of the collective, both in politics and society, was emphasised from an early age. The year after qualifying as a registered nurse, she took part in the famous Victorian nurses’ strike of 1986 which resulted in substantial improvements to pay and conditions. Ged is a mother of four children aged from 16 to 23, and lives in Melbourne. Download low-res image of Ged Kearney Download hi-res image of Ged Kearney Jeff Lawrence - Secretary Since his election as Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in August 2007, Jeff Lawrence has steered the union movement in a new direction under a Labor Government. Under his stewardship, the ACTU was a key negotiator in the drafting of the Fair Work Act, which features a guaranteed safety net of rights and conditions, improved protection from unfair dismissal, the abolition of Australian Workplace Agreements, an independent umpire, and rights to collective bargaining. Jeff has devoted his entire career to advancing the interests of working Australians, particularly the low-paid. Prior to joining the ACTU, he headed one of Australia’s largest unions – the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), a union with more than 130,000 members in the service, contract, childcare, aged care and health industries. Under his leadership, the union reversed the decline in membership, achieving modest growth against the wider trend. After coming to the ACTU, Jeff joined with ACTU President Sharan Burrow to co-ordinate the Your Rights at Work campaign against the Howard Government’s WorkChoices laws. Among his achievements at the ACTU, in 2009 he helped broker a new set of government procurement guidelines that place greater emphasis on Australian jobs and workplace rights. Unions under his watch have successfully advocated for economic stimulus measures to protect Australian jobs during the downturn. Jeff was born in Newcastle in 1952, and has a degree in Arts/Law (Hons) from Sydney University. His father Barry was a panel beater and auto mechanic and his mother Elaine a typist and stenographer. He is married to Judith and lives in Melbourne. Download low-res image of Jeff Lawrence Download hi-res image of Jeff Lawrence Tim Lyons - Assistant Secretary Tim was elected as an ACTU Assistant Secretary in August 2008. Tim’s responsibilities as an ACTU Officer include management of the organising and growth agenda, union education programs, the industrial and policy unit, superannuation and retirement incomes, and the corporate research/strategic campaigning capacity. Tim represents the ACTU and unions in discussions with government and business on both industrial issues and the broader policy agenda of Australian unions. He is a member of a range of government committees, including in relation to superannuation, workplace relations and procurement. Tim is a Trustee Director of HESTA superannuation fund, a director of The Union Education Foundation and the Australian representative on the Global Unions Committee on Workers' Capital. Prior to the ACTU, Tim was an official of the National Union of Workers (NUW) for over 13 years, and represented members in a wide range of industries, including logistics, food, plastics, oil and gas and general manufacturing. Tim’s positions at the NUW included senior advocate in the National Office, and industrial officer and organiser for the Victorian Branch, giving him wide exposure to enterprise bargaining and organising in the private sector. His work as an industrial officer and advocate focused on bargaining and industrial action, including in appellate and test case proceedings. Download lo-res image of Tim Lyons Download hi-res image of Tim Lyons Michael Borowick - Assistant Secretary Michael was elected as ACTU Assistant Secretary in November 2010 He oversees the work of the Communications, Campaigns, Occupational Health and Safety and Workers Compensation teams. Michael also represents the ACTU as a member of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council, Safe Work Australia and the Defence Industry Innovation Council. Prior to his current position, Michael was an official of the Australian Workers’ Union for 20 years, where he was the Victorian Branch Assistant Secretary and a member of the AWU National Executive. Here he serviced members from various industries including steel, glass, metal, manufacturing, carpentry, joinery, building, construction, plastics and chemicals. Michael started his working life as an electrician having started his apprenticeship in the building and construction industry and has always had strong union values. A current member of the ALP, Michael believes that the interest of working people and their families are best served by strong and active unions working in partnership with the ALP. Download lo-res image of Michael Borowick Download hi-res image of Michael Borowick Affiliated unions Association of Hospital Pharmacists Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union Australian & International Pilots Association Australian Education Union Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Australian Maritime Officers Union Australian Nursing Federation Australian Professional Footballers' Association Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Australian Services Union Australian Workers' Union Australian Writers' Guild Blind Workers Union of Victoria Breweries & Bottleyards Employees Industrial Union of Workers WA Civil Air Operations Officers Association of Australia Club Managers Association Australia Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia Community and Public Sector Union - PSU Group Community and Public Sector Union - SPSF Group Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Finance Sector Union Flight Attendants Association of Australia - Domestic/Regional Division Flight Attendants' Association of Australia - International Division Funeral and Allied Industries Union of NSW Health Services Union Independent Education Union of Australia Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union Maritime Union of Australia Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance Medical Scientists Association of Victoria National Tertiary Education Union National Union of Workers New South Wales Nurses' Association Police Federation of Australia Rail, Tram and Bus Union Salaried Pharmacists Association of WA Union of Workers Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia Transport Workers Union of Australia Union of Christmas Island Workers United Firefighters Union of Australia Victorian Psychologists Association Incorporated Western Australian Prison Officers' Union of Workers Trade & Labor Councils Queensland Council of Unions Unions ACT Unions NSW Unions NT Unions Tasmania SA Unions Unions WA Victorian Trades Hall Council