Frances O'Grady
Frances O'Grady
Frances Lorraine O'Gradyis the General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress, the first woman to hold that position...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth9 November 1959
boys thinking use
Would I describe myself as new Labour? I'm Labour, organised Labour. I think labels have a limited use and that's where you really get into boy stuff sometimes, just sticking on labels.
mother thinking feet
I think being a mother helps keep your feet on the ground. There's very little dignity in parenthood. It's a great leveller.
thinking ideas people
Ordinary people who have lots of good ideas want more than a suggestion box, and they need a union to represent that thinking.
thinking years europe
Of course, no-one thinks the EU is perfect. In recent years, the pace of social reform has slowed. But staying in offers the chance to rebuild a vision of Europe for workers, regardless of the passport they hold.
men thinking two
I worry that some politicians still think we are living in the 1950s where the man is the main breadwinner and the woman works for pin money. Actually, most families where there are two parents depend on two incomes to get by.
freedom goes half inevitable markets natural second
It is not natural or inevitable that half the world goes hungry; that the freedom of markets trumps protection of the planet; or that citizens' rights come second to those of corporations.
ashes chance economic
From the ashes of a financial crash, there is a chance to create a new economic settlement that is more equal, sustainable and democratic.
relevant says section unions work
There is nothing that says unions have a God-given right to be there. We have to work at it and make ourselves relevant to every section of the workforce.
approach causes crash dominant economic last letting market rip seen since thirty
The dominant economic approach of the last thirty years is now on its last legs. Letting the market rip and an indifference to inequality are now seen as important causes of the greatest economic crash since the 1930s.
austerity biting evidence hard movement people policies trade union work
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 now more than ever.
complacent image increasing men number tune unions women
The image of the unions is still not in tune with where we actually are, which is fifty-fifty men and women, with an increasing number of women at the top. I think it is changing, but I'm not complacent about this.
difficulty government market plain rip work
The difficulty for the Government is there's this ideological straitjacket of the market will provide, let the market rip and everything will work out... It's back to trickle-down economics, which, it's plain to see, have not delivered.
austerity case critics decline identify opportunity paul rightly robert trade
In the U.S. the powerful critics of austerity such as Paul Krugman and Robert Reich rightly identify the decline of 'labor' as a problem, and renewing trade unionism part of the solution. Our opportunity is to make the same case in the UK.
voice people giving
A business is good if it gives a decent day's reward for a decent day's work, treats people decently, and gives them a voice at the top.