Josep Maria Alvarez was elected secretary general of the union confederation following a tight vote during the union’s 42nd congress. The Catalan is taking over at a difficult time for the union that has seen its membership drop 21% since 2011 against a difficult backdrop with the organization facing a series of scandals undergoing investigation. The new leader has confirmed the overhaul of the union’s structures that were put in place by his predecessor and has promised more transparency in a union that is closer to its members.
The UGT closes the Candido Mendez chapter. The secretary general who headed up the union confederation for 22 years leaves his post without passing on the baton, as he would have liked. Following a tight and secret vote Josep Maria Alvarez from Catalonia was elected on the night between Friday 11 and Saturday 12 March with a total of 306 votes, or 51.1% of ballots cast, and just 17 votes ahead of 289 votes in favor of Candido Mendez’s presumed successor, Miguel Angel Cilleros. The third candidate for the post, Gustavo Santana had to pull out due to insufficient support.
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