Key summary
- Paddy Lillis, Dave McCrossen, and Brendan Duggan are retiring from Usdaw.
- Joanne Thomas, Rab Donnelly, and Darren Miller are taking their places.
- Lillis became general secretary in 2018 and oversaw various campaigns and initiatives.
Paddy Lillis, the long-serving general secretary of Usdaw, the retail trade union, is retiring today. He's stepping down alongside two other central officials: Dave McCrossen, deputy general secretary, and Brendan Duggan, executive and administration officer.
Taking their places are Joanne Thomas (formerly North East regional secretary), Rab Donnelly (formerly Southern regional secretary), and Darren Miller (formerly head of the legal services department). Nick Walker will continue in his role as central treasurer.
Lillis became Usdaw’s general secretary in July 2018 and was re-elected to serve a further five-year term in November 2022. But, in February this year, he announced his plans to retire, and the union elected their first ever female general secretary, Joanne Thomas, in April.
In his time as general secretary, Lillis has overseen the launch of a number of high profile Usdaw campaigns including the Retail Recovery Plan and the New Deal for Workers. He has liaised with retailers and employers groups, such as the British Retail Consortium, to highlight the issues facing the retail sector and led campaigns calling for clear government action.
He has also driven forward the union’s Freedom From Fear campaign, which has delivered new legal protections for shopworkers, including Daniel Johnson MSP’s Protection of Workers Act in Scotland and more recently the Labour government introducing a new standalone offence in England and Wales as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.
“It has been a great privilege to lead Usdaw, the union that I joined at the start of my working life and that I’ve been a part of ever since,” Lillis said.
“Since I became general secretary in 2018, the union has faced some huge challenges, with the Covid pandemic, the last years of an anti-union Tory Government and the cost-of-living crisis impacting on our members and their families. I’m so proud of the way we have supported our members through those challenges together as a union.”
Lillis has been a full-time official of the union for over 35 years and held the post of deputy general secretary for 14 years.
“When I took my first step as an Usdaw rep, as a shop steward in Abbey Meats in Newtownabbey, 43 years ago, I could never have imagined I would be leading this organisation,” Lillis said.
“This is a bittersweet moment for me, not least because I will not be sharing my retirement years with my beautiful wife, Jacqueline, who sadly passed away in March 2024. I will, of course, do what she would have wanted me to do and share them with our wonderful sons, their wives and our 11 beautiful grandchildren, who I have no doubt will keep me busy.
“We have a fantastic leadership team now coming in with Joanne, Rab and Darren joining Nick. I wish them every success for this union going forward and I look forward to seeing what the union achieves. While I may be leaving Usdaw, I know that Usdaw will never leave me. I will remain a member, a supporter and friend of Usdaw for the rest of my life.”