Former Fire Brigades Union boss Matt Wrack has been elected as the new general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union.
He had previously been confirmed as general secretary in April this year, succeeding the union’s outgoing leader Dr Patrick Roach. He had been put forward by the union’s national executive.
However, the union has since held an election for the position following a legal challenge.
Both Mr Wrack, who has been serving as the union’s acting general secretary, and challenger Neil Butler met the threshold of being nominated either by the NASUWT’s national executive or through the support of a minimum of 25 NASUWT local associations.
A postal ballot was launched in June and closed today. The union has announced that Mr Wrack with 5,249 votes to Mr Butler’s 3,126.
‘Spirited campaign’
Mr Wrack said: “I am immensely honoured to be elected general secretary of NASUWT. I want to thank every member who participated in this election for placing their trust in me.
“NASUWT is a proud and powerful voice for teachers, and together we will make that voice even stronger. I pay tribute to Dr Patrick Roach for his years of service and to Neil Butler for a spirited campaign that highlighted the issues our members care about.”
He added that teachers have “endured years of underinvestment, overwork and undervaluing of our profession”.
“We urgently need government to invest in education - that means fair pay, manageable workloads and safe, respectful working environments for staff and students.”
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