TUC General Secretary discusses Europe, worker's rights and the importance of history

FOG As General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Frances O’Grady works to represent the 6.2 million members who belong to affiliated unions in England and Wales.

In this exclusive interview, recorded shortly after receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Warwick, Frances discusses how she became involved with the trade union movement, the challenges currently facing trade unionists and what the TUC wants to see out of a renegotiation with the European Union.

The University of Warwick’s Modern Records Centre is proud to house the archives of the TUC.

Frances first joined the TUC as Campaigns Officer in 1994, and went onto launch the TUC’s Organising Academy in 1997. Frances headed up the TUC’s organisation department in 1999, reorganising local skills projects into “unionlearn” which now helps a quarter of a million workers into learning every year.

As Deputy General Secretary from 2003, Frances led on the environment, industrial policy, the NHS and winning an agreement covering the 2012 Olympics. She has served as a member of both the Low Pay Commission, the High Pay Centre and the Resolution Foundation’s Commission on Living Standards.