The Lord Prentis of Leeds | |
|---|---|
 Prentis speaking at theLabour Party Conference in 2002 | |
| 3rd General Secretary ofUNISON | |
| In office 1 January 2001 – 22 January 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Rodney Bickerstaffe |
| Succeeded by | Christina McAnea |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 18 November 2022 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-05-29)29 May 1948 (age 77) Leeds, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Domestic partner | Liz Snape[1] |
| Alma mater | |
David Prentis, Baron Prentis of Leeds (born 29 May 1948)[2][3] is a British trade unionist and former General Secretary ofUNISON, theUnited Kingdom's largesttrade union.[4] He was originally elected in 2000. He was re-elected in March 2005 with 77% of the vote,[5] in 2010 with 67% of the vote,[6] and in 2015 with 49% of the vote.[7]
Prentis was born and brought up inLeeds where he attendedSt Michael's College from 1959 to 1967. He went to theUniversity of London where he took aBA in History, then studied Economic History at theLondon School of Economics. This was followed by a master's degree inIndustrial Relations at theUniversity of Warwick.[3]
He joinedNALGO in 1975, and in 1990 he became its deputy general secretary. He was UNISON's deputy general secretary (DGS) from its formation in July 1993, when it was formed from NALGO,NUPE andCoHSE.[3]
In his role as the deputy general secretary, Prentis directed UNISON's national negotiating team and oversaw the union's policy making functions. He also drove through a strategic review of the union, aimed at delivering key reforms, to bring union services closer to the members. In 2001, he succeededRodney Bickerstaffe as General Secretary of UNISON, having been elected in February 2000.
Prentis was responsible for 1,500 staff and a turnover of around £160 million. As General Secretary, he received a total salary and benefits package worth £112,114 in the accounting year ending 31 December 2013.[8]
He was a member of theTUC General Council, TUC executive committee and the Trade Union Labour Party Liaison Committee. He was electedPresident of the TUC for the year 2008.[9]
In July 2020, he announced his decision to step down at the end of the year.[10]Christina McAnea was elected as his successor in a ballot of members, in which she won 47.7% of the vote.[11]
It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part of the2022 Special Honours, Prentis would receive alife peerage, sitting for theLabour Party.[12] On 18 November 2022, he was createdBaron Prentis of Leeds,ofHarehills in theCity of Leeds.[13]
In 2000, he was diagnosed withcancer of theoesophagus andstomach. He had much of his stomach removed, underwentchemotherapy, and then contractedMRSA in hospital. Since his recovery from cancer he has been unable to eat large meals.[3]
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Deputy General Secretary ofNALGO 1990–1993 | Position abolished |
| New post | Deputy General Secretary ofUNISON 1993–2000 With:Colm O'Kane andTom Sawyer (1993–1994) | Succeeded by Keith Sonnet |
| Preceded by | General Secretary ofUNISON 2001–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Trades Union Congress 2008 | Succeeded by Sheila Bearcroft |
| Preceded by | President of thePublic Services International 2010–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Prentis of Leeds | Followed by |
