First female leader for TUC
1 min read
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has announced that Frances O'Grady will be its new general secretary, the first female leader of the organisation. She will take over from Brendan Barber as general secretary when he retires at the end of this year.
O'Grady, the TUC's current deputy general secretary, was the only candidate nominated by unions and will become general secretary designate at the TUC conference in Brighton in September.
She joined the TUC in 1994 as campaigns officer, arguing for equal rights for part-time workers and against low pay. After various other roles, O'Grady was appointed deputy general secretary in 2003 – part of her focus has been on industrial policy, campaigning for economic rebalancing.
Frances O'Grady said: "This is a great honour. Never has a strong, responsible trade union movement been so needed. With austerity policies biting hard and with no evidence that they are working, people at work need the TUC to speak up for them.
"We must be the advocates of the growth and jobs alternative… We have the best opportunity in a generation to help build a fair, productive and green economy that works for ordinary people."
