The
head of the GMB union is to stand down a year early.
John
Edmonds, 58, was to retire in 2004, but will now stand down as general
secretary in the new year.
A
successor for the 700,000-strong GMB will be found in March, the union said.
Front-runners
for the union include the London regional secretary, Paul Kenny, a member of
the TUC general council, and the northern regional secretary, Kevin Curran.
Bill
Morris, the leader of the Transport and General Workers Union, is also due to
retire next year.