Esther Lynch (born 1963) is an Irish trade unionist. She is General Secretary of the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

(ETUC). Lynch was elected as General Secretary of the ETUC in 2022, the first Irish person and second woman to hold the post. As leader of the confederation, she is prioritising fighting for fair pay,

equal pay Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

for women, employment security, and workers' rights. Prior to that, Lynch held the position of Confederal Secretary of the ETUC from 2015, and in 2019, she was elected as its Deputy General Secretary. In the 1980s, Lynch worked in a factory making microchips, where she first joined a union. She then moved to become a political advisor to

Joan Burton Joan Burton (born 1 February 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Social Protection from 2011 to 2016, Deputy leader of the Labour Party fro ...

, the Minister for Social Affairs. In 1993, she moved to work for the

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union cent ...

, where her role included negotiations on pay and social partnership agreements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Esther 1963 births Living people Irish trade union leaders