Former Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) official, Esther Lynch has been elected Deputy General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Esther was elected to the top job last week by delegates at the 14th ETUC Congress in Vienna, Austria. Voting delegates included general secretaries and presidents of some 90 national trade union organisations from 38 European countries.

The ETUC is the voice of workers and represents 45 million members from 90 trade union organisations in 38 European countries, plus 10 European Trade Union Federations.

Esther was ICTU’s Legislation and Social Affairs Officer between 1993 and 2015, before moving to the ETUC to take up the post of Confederal Secretary following her election at the 2015 Paris Congress.

Esther worked closely with one of Fórsa’s forerunner unions, IMPACT, on the development of protected disclosure (‘whistleblowers’) legislation and secured an advisory role for trade unions in the development of the Register of Lobbyists.

ICTU General Secretary, Patricia King, warmly welcomed Esther’s appointment to the four year Brussels-based post, and congratulated her personally after the vote.

Patricia said: “I was delighted to be among the first to offer my congratulations, and those of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, to Esther on her well-deserved appointment.

“The level of support that her candidacy received reflects the very high regard in which she is held across Europe.

“Esther was a superb choice with long experience of what the job involves. This is a great result for the 45 million workers who are members of ETUC-affiliated trade unions.”

Fórsa also extended congratulations to Esther on behalf of the union.

The ETUC aims to ensure that the EU is not just a single market for goods and services, but is also a social Europe, where improving the wellbeing of workers and their families is an equally important priority.