Dave Prentis

David Prentis (born 29 May 1948)[1][2] is a British trade unionist and former General Secretary of UNISON, the United Kingdom's largest trade union.[3] He was originally elected in 2000. He was re-elected in March 2005, with 77% of the vote,[4] in 2010 (with 67% of the vote),[5] and in 2015 (with 49% of the vote).[6]

For similarly named people, see David Prentiss (disambiguation) and David Prentice (disambiguation).
Dave Prentis
Prentis speaking at the Labour Party Conference in 2002
3rd General Secretary of UNISON
In office
1 January 2001 – 22 January 2021
Preceded byRodney Bickerstaffe
Succeeded byChristina McAnea
Personal details
Born (1948-05-29) 29 May 1948
Leeds, England
Political partyLabour
Alma mater

Early life

Prentis was born and brought up in Leeds where he attended St Michael's College from 1959 to 1967. He went to the University of London where he took a BA in History, then studied Economic History at the London School of Economics. This was followed by a master's degree in Industrial Relations at the University of Warwick.[2]

Trade unions

He joined NALGO 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 and CoHSE.[2]

UNISON leadership

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 succeeded Rodney Bickerstaffe as General Secretary of UNISON, having been elected in February 2000.

Prentis is 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.[7]

He is a member of the TUC General Council, TUC executive committee and the Trade Union Labour Party Liaison Committee. He was elected President of the TUC for the year 2008.[8]

He is a member of the Labour Party's economy commission and the Labour Party joint policy committee.

In July 2020, he announced his decision to step down at the end of the year.[9] Christina McAnea was elected as his successor in a ballot of members, in which she won 47.7% of the vote.[10]

Public appointments
  • Trustee of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)[2] and also Catalyst, two centre-left research bodies
  • Adviser to the Warwick Institute of Governance and Public Management
  • Visiting fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford
  • Member of various joint working parties with the government and the CBI
  • President of Unity Trust Bank
  • since, 1 June 2012, non-executive director of the Bank of England. The initial appointment is until 31 May 2015.[11] For the accounting year 2013/14 non-executive directors of the Bank of England received total remuneration of £165,458.[12]

Personal life

In 2000, he was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus and stomach. He had much of his stomach removed, underwent chemotherapy, and then contracted MRSA in hospital. Since his recovery from cancer he has been unable to eat large meals.[2]

Views on tax loopholes

“It would be a huge mistake to slash the tax rate for top earners. This is another example of the rich being let off lightly, while low paid workers bear the brunt.

“It would be totally wrong to lose £750 million to the Treasury at a time when public sector workers are being forced to face pay freezes and job losses, and there are millions out of work.

“The Government would be better advised to look at plugging tax loopholes for the rich and tackling tax evasion that costs us billions, rather than giving top earners a cash break.”

— Dave Prentis, UNISON press release, 5 August 2011[13]

References
  1. Gary Daniels and John McIlroy, Trade Unions in a Neoliberal World
  2. Christopher Hope (24 July 2008). "Profile: Dave Prentis, an elder statesman of the awkward squad". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  3. "UNISON: The Public Service Union: 2017 Annual Return" (PDF). Gov.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. Unison.org.uk – About Dave Prentis. Retrieved 27 April 2006.
  5. "Dave Prentis re-elected as UNISON General Secretary", UNISON, 22 June 2010
  6. "Dave Prentis re-elected as UNISON general secretary", UNISON, 22 December 2015
  7. "UNISON financial Statements, 2013" (PDF). p. 16. Archived from the original (pdf) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  8. "New TUC President elected in Brighton". Trades Union Congress. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  9. "Unison: Union boss Dave Prentis stepping down after 20 years", BBC News, 13 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020
  10. Parkinson, Justin. "UK's biggest union elects first woman leader". BBC News. BBC. Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. "Bank of England | About the Bank | People & governance | The Court of Directors". Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  12. "Bank of England Annual Report, 2014" (PDF). p. 53. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  13. "Top income tax slash - UNISON response". 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011.

News items
Trade union offices
Preceded by
Alan Jinkinson		 Deputy General Secretary of NALGO
1990–1993		 Succeeded by
Position abolished
Preceded by
New position		 Deputy General Secretary of UNISON
1993–2000
With: Colm O'Kane and Tom Sawyer (1993–1994)		 Succeeded by
Keith Sonnet
Preceded by
Rodney Bickerstaffe		 General Secretary of UNISON
2001–2021		 Succeeded by
Christina McAnea
Preceded by
Alison Shepherd		 President of the Trades Union Congress
2008		 Succeeded by
Sheila Bearcroft
Preceded by
Ylva Thörn		 President of the Public Services International
2010–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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