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Save our NHS rally: 7 March
The House of Lords are to start discussing proposed changes to the Government’s Health and Social Care Bill on 8 February. The seriousness of this Bill cannot be understated. It threatens the very...
View ArticleNew year and new challenges: My priorities for 2013
I’m taking over as the new TUC General Secretary this week, as many people return to work after the New Year. And 2013 is already looking to be a critical time for our movement and the UK as a whole....
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Add your name for the Shrewsbury 24
Supporters carry the campaign’s banner on last October’s TUC march in London. Photo Alan Denny The TUC gives its full backing to the Shrewsbury 24 campaign in its quest to right a 40-year-old wrong...
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A shameful attack on rural workers, their families and their communities
Shame has never been the landed gentry’s strong point. They were out in force in the House of Lords this week to vote in favour of abolishing the Agricultural Wages Board that sets minimum conditions...
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A new campaign plan for Britain’s unions
Since the birth of the coalition in the Downing Street Rose Garden back in May 2010, it has been the TUC and Britain’s unions that have been at the forefront arguing against austerity. We have...
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Anti-Tolpuddle spirit lives on in the Lobbying Bill
Starting the Sunday procession at Tolpuddle with Tony Benn. Photo Simon Wells After speaking at the annual Tolpuddle festival yesterday, I can confirm that the spirit of the Tolpuddle Martyrs is alive...
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Why I’m marching for our NHS in Manchester today
The NHS faces the gravest crisis in its history. We are seeing privatisation on an unthinkable scale as core services are hived off to the lowest bidder, budgets are flat-lining, and huge efficiency...
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When it comes to skills, Britain needs to do better.
Our current laissez faire approach to skills – leaving employers to their own devices – simply isn’t fit for purpose. If this country is to thrive in tomorrow’s global economy and if we are to build a...
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The legacy and inspiration of Nelson Mandela
I was honoured to be invited to speak on behalf of the trade union movement at the Parliamentary commemoration of Nelson Mandela organised by the Speakers of the Houses of Commons and Lords in...
View ArticleWhat is this government doing for women?
You hear a lot about how this government has a ‘women problem’ but I thought it was the other way round. After all, what is this government doing for women? Childcare costs spiralling out of control, a...
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#AskFrances – live twitter Q&A with young workers
As part of the TUC’s Fair Pay Fortnight and Young Workers’ Month 2014, I did my first ever live Q&A on twitter, to take questions from young workers, using the #askfrances hashtag. Here’s a record...
View ArticleA massive step backwards for health and safety
The government has chosen the 40th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act to make one of the most dangerous changes since the legislation came into effect in 1974. It has decided that...
View ArticleThree challenges facing union learning
The TUC’s work on learning is the trade union movement at its best – positive, progressive, and popular. Union learning is focused firmly on the future and on making our economy stronger and more...
View Article#HolocaustMemorialDay 2015: Remember the holocaust
This Holocaust Memorial Day the spotlight is on the worrying growth of anti-semitism in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, where hard right and neo-fascist parties are gaining ground. The attacks in...
View ArticleWhy Cameron’s belief in freedom doesn’t extend to workers
If David Cameron really wants workers to get a pay rise, then he’s got a funny way of going about it. Over the last five years we have seen a sustained attack on workers’ rights and protection at work,...
View ArticleTUC-DGB statement on PEGIDA-UK March this Saturday
In the light of Saturday’s planned March in Newcastle-on-Tyne by the alleged British branch of the far right, anti-Islamic German organisation PEGIDA, I have agreed the following statement with my...
View ArticleGreece after the referendum
I was pleased to be able to sponsor and speak at the Greece Solidarity Campaign/Jubilee Debt Campaign rally in solidarity with Greece at Congress House last night. Here’s what I said: Greece is the...
View ArticleCommon priorities for Europe in Britain & Ireland
Yesterday I had the honour of addressing the Congress of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), and a large part of my speech focused on the challenges facing the European Union. Including, of...
View ArticleUK proposals for EU renegotiation: Joint DGB-TUC statement
Reiner Hoffman, the President of the TUC’s German equivalent, the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB), has signed the following statement with me. It sets out our response to the Prime Minister’s speech...
View ArticleIf you #heartunions join our week of action against the trade union bill
The campaign against the trade union bill is at a critical stage. The parliamentary process has moved into the House of Lords, where we have our best chances of defeating it or getting changes pushed...
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