RSS feed Frances O'Grady's Archive

Frances O'Grady

Frances O'Grady

Frances O’Grady is General Secretary of the TUC, and is the first woman ever to hold this post. She was on the Resolution Foundation’s Commission on Living Standards, and has been a member of the Low Pay and the High Pay Commissions. Frances is a strong believer in protecting the public service ethos, opposes privatisation and leads TUC campaigning on the NHS. You can read Frances’ full biography at the TUC website.

  • Economics

    Austerity is now hard right politics, not sensible economics

    22nd April 2013 — Filed under: Economics

    Frances O'Grady Frances O'Grady

    Spending cuts, unemployment and austerity look more and more like hard right politics, rather than necessary economics.

    Even the IMF now says that the UK should ease up. This comes after IMF research showing that spending cuts make deficits worse when an economy is depressed. They may reduce spending, but if they suck the life out of an economy then the tax take falls even more.

    Remember – this government originally said they would have reduced borrowing to £37 billion a year by 2014. Now they say it will be more than £100 billion.

    Continue Reading →

  • Economics

    Next Wednesday George Osborne should admit he’s got it wrong

    13th March 2013 — Filed under: Economics

    Frances O'Grady Frances O'Grady

    British workers are currently facing the tightest squeeze on their living standards in a century. Family budgets are at breaking point, real wages are lower than a decade ago and a generation of young people are going to end up worse off than their parents. But next month – as multimillionaire bankers get a massive tax cut – ordinary families will be made to pay the price in the form of the child benefit freeze, tax credit cuts and the bedroom tax, all of which will combine with stagnant wages, rising prices and public service cuts to devastating effect.

    Research published by the TUC earlier today shows that the decisions being made by the government will cost middle-income households £1,200 a year. By the time of the next election, nine in ten households will be worse off, and half of all children in the UK will live in families below the breadline.

    It’s time for a fundamental change of direction.

    Continue Reading →

  • Equality

    IWD 2013: Women taking the hit. In every way

    8th March 2013 — Filed under: Equality

    Frances O'Grady Frances O'Grady

    International Women's Day logoTurn on the TV or open any newspaper and reports of attacks on women worldwide keep on coming. The numerous high profile rape and paedophile cases here in the UK, the gang rape cases in India, the recent shooting of Reeva Steenkamp in Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius’ home in South Africa, the continued use of rape as a weapon in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Rochdale and Rotherham sexual abuse scandals… sadly, the list could go on and on. This International Women’s Day, the need to tackle violence against women all over the world is as great as it ever has been.

    But in the UK, it is violence against women support organisations that have been first in line for hits to funding: services closed, experienced staff lost, services teetering on the brink of closing their doors just waiting for the next round of funding cuts to finish them off.The death toll taken by domestic violence in the UK is already disgracefully high – two women are killed every single week by current or former partners. How far will this figure rise as the cuts continue to bite? Yet it seems that women and children’s lives are disregarded in the dogged pursuit of deficit reduction.

    Continue Reading →

  • Society & Welfare

    A modern Beveridge

    27th November 2012 — Filed under: Society & Welfare

    Frances O'Grady Frances O'Grady

    I contributed to the BBC’s excellent Radio 4 programme this morning commemorating the seventieth anniversary of the Beveridge Report. They asked me to set out what I thought needs to be done to bring it up to date, and this is what I said:

    One person was missing from Danny Boyle’s brilliant Olympics opening ceremony.  William Beveridge, more than anyone, helped shape what defines modern British society.

    Continue Reading →

  • Equality

    Cuts can kill: Why the TUC backs action to end violence against women

    23rd November 2012 — Filed under: Equality

    Frances O'Grady Frances O'Grady

    Unite to end violence against women

    25 Nov 2012: UN Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

    Every week, two women in the UK are killed by their current or ex partners. And a quarter of all women experience domestic violence at some point in their lifetimes, according to Women’s Aid. This Sunday (25 Nov) marks the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Last year we pressed our government to follow the example of the majority of Council of Europe member states and sign up to the Istanbul Convention on violence against women.

    The good news is that the government did sign the treaty (yet to be ratified) – a solemn and binding pledge to make the safety of victims a priority. The treaty binds governments to ensure victims and their children get specialised support, medical assistance, and psychological and legal counseling. And it means that in every town in Britain there should be a safe shelter for survivors to go.

    The government has declared its intention to “to end violence against women and girls (VAWG)” – an ambition that the TUC shares.  But the harsh reality of government cuts means that many refuges and charities, which provide a lifeline for women suffering abuse, face closure.

    Continue Reading →

  • Public services

    Trust in the Tories in tatters over the NHS

    20th February 2012 — Filed under: Public services

    Frances O'Grady Frances O'Grady

    Research by YouGov commissioned by Unite and released today has shown the damage that David Cameron and Andrew Lansley have done to their reputation over the NHS reforms.  The British people love the NHS, patient satisfaction is at an all time high and it is becoming very clear that the government threatens this beloved institution at its peril.

    Prior to the election David Cameron pledged no top down organisation to the NHS and on his billboards stated that he’d “cut the deficit, not the NHS”. Instead, borrowing is up, services are being cut and top-down reforms are being imposed on the NHS against the will of the general public and health professionals. This has not gone unnoticed by voters, those that think David Cameron hasn’t delivered on his pre-election assurances over the NHS outnumber those that believe he has by three to one.

    So, as with many things in politics, it all boils down to a matter of trust. Cameron promised one thing on our National Health Service and then seems to do the complete opposite, so why would the general public believe his reassurances about his health reforms?

    Continue Reading →

  • Public services

    NHS: 49% cap is a threat to us all

    16th January 2012 — Filed under: Public services

    Frances O'Grady Frances O'Grady

    Today the Commons is debating the Government’s plans to increase the cap on NHS hospitals ability to raise private income to 49%. It currently varies from hospital to hospital but is, on average, 1.1% so this represents a massive increase.

    Now some commentators have said that this is better than the original proposal to remove the cap entirely and that, in any case, almost no hospitals will get anywhere near that as there is not a market for a wholesale increase in private health provision in the current economic climate.

    That misses the point however. The government is not trying to meet a market demand, it is trying to create one.

    Continue Reading →