KINGSTON, Jamaica – Veteran trade unionist and general secretary of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO), Helene Davis Whyte, is the new president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).

Davis Whyte was elected at the JCTU’s congress on July 2, at the head office of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Church Street, Kingston. She was elected unopposed.

Six vice-presidents were also elected. They include Wesley Nelson, vice president of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), who received the most votes among the seven competitors for the six positions.

The other vice presidents are: St Patrick Ennis, general secretary of the Union of Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP); Lambert Brown, president of the Union of University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU); Granville Valentine, general secretary of the National Workers Union (NWU); Oneil Grant, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA); and Lorraine Brown, president of the Jamaica Workers Union (JWU).

The Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), founded in 1980, is a national trade union body representing 12 major trade unions, and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

The previous president was Lloyd Goodleigh, former general secretary of the NWU, who died in December.

Balford Henry