The General Secretary of the TUC is the chief permanent officer of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

, and a major figurehead in the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

movement in the United Kingdom. The Secretary is responsible for the effective operation of the TUC and for leading implementation of policies set by the annual Congress and the organisation's General Council. They also serve as the TUC's chief representative, both with the public and with other organisations. The position was formed in 1921, when the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC became the General Council. The position of Secretary has been a permanent, full-time position in the TUC since 1904. Before that, the Secretary was elected annually at Congress. Since January 2013, the incumbent position was held by

Frances O'Grady Frances Lorraine Maria O'Grady, Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (born 9 November 1959) became the General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 2013, the first woman to hold the position. After O'Grady presented her resigna ...

, the first woman to hold the post. O'Grady will be succeeded by Paul Nowak, the current Deputy General Secretary, on 1 January 2023.

Secretaries of the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC

* W. H. Wood (1868–1869) * George Potter (1869–1872) *

George Odger George Odger (1813–4 March 1877) was a pioneer British trade unionist and radical politician. He is best remembered as the head of the London Trades Council during the period of formation of the Trades Union Congress and as the first President ...

(1872–1873) * George Howell (1873–1876) *

Henry Broadhurst :''See also Harry Broadhurst'' Henry Broadhurst (13 April 1840 – 11 October 1911) was a leading early British trade unionist and a Lib-Lab politician who sat in the House of Commons for various Midlands constituencies between 1880 and 190 ...

(1876–1885) *

George Shipton George Shipton (1839 – 14 October 1911) was a prominent British trade unionist. Trade union activity Shipton worked as a builder and became involved in trade unionism by joining the Land and Labour League, where he became a strong supporter of ...

(1885–1886) *

(1886–1890) *

Charles Fenwick Charles Fenwick (5 May 1850 – 20 April 1918) was a British trade unionist and Liberal–Labour politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1918. Fenwick was born in Cramlington, Northumberland, and became a coal miner at the a ...

(1890–1894) * Sam Woods (1894–1905) * W. C. Steadman (1905–1911) * C. W. Bowerman (1911–1921)

General Secretaries of the TUC

;Status

Deputy General Secretaries of the TUC

:1977:

Norman Willis Norman David Willis (21 January 1933 – 7 June 2014) was the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the United Kingdom from 1984 to 1993, and President of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) from 1991 to 1993. Li ...

:1985: Kenneth Graham :1987:

John Monks John Stephen Monks, Baron Monks (born 5 August 1945) is a Labour Co-operative member of the House of Lords and former trade unionist leader, who served as the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the UK from 1993 until 2003. ...

:1993: Brendan Barber :2003:

:2013: ''Post vacant''Dan Milmo,
TUC scraps post of deputy general secretary after 'graduates only' row
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 9 December 2012 :2016: Paul NowakTrades Union Congress,
Paul Nowak appointed TUC Deputy General Secretary
, 25 February 2016

Assistant General Secretaries of the TUC

:1917:

Fred Bramley Fred Bramley (27 September 1874 – 10 October 1925) was the second General Secretary of the British Trade Union Congress (TUC). Born in Pool near Otley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Bramley completed an apprenticeship as a cabinet-maker, the ...

:1924:

Walter Citrine Walter McLennan Citrine, 1st Baron Citrine, (22 August 1887 – 22 January 1983) was one of the leading British and international trade unionists of the twentieth century and a notable public figure. Yet, apart from his renowned guide to the co ...

:1926:

Alec Firth Alec Sandy Firth (1892 – date of death unknown) was a British trade union official. Born in London, Firth attended Shelley Elementary School, then won scholarships to Penistone Grammar School, followed by Huddersfield Technical College. He wo ...

:1931:

Vincent Tewson Sir Harold Vincent Tewson (4 February 1898 – 1 May 1981) was an English trade unionist who served as General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) from 1946 to 1960. Biography Harold Vincent Tewson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire. Af ...

:1947:

George Woodcock George Woodcock (; May 8, 1912 – January 28, 1995) was a Canadian writer of political biography and history, an anarchist thinker, a philosopher, an essayist and literary critic. He was also a poet and published several volumes of travel wri ...

:1960: Vic Feather :1969:

Len Murray Lionel Murray, Baron Murray of Epping Forest, (2 August 1922 – 20 May 2004) was a British Labour Party politician and trade union leader. Early life Murray was born in Hadley, Shropshire, the son of a young unmarried woman, Lorna Hodskinson ...

:1973:

:1978: Kenneth Graham and David Lea :1985: Roy Jackson and David Lea :1992: David Lea :1999: ''Post vacant'' :2003:

Kay Carberry Kay Carberry, (born 19 October 1950) is the former Assistant General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). Carberry studied at the Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq in Malta, then at the University of Sussex. She worked as a teacher ...

:2013:

and Paul Nowak :2016: ''Post vacant''

References

{{Portal, Organized labour Lists of British people Lists of office-holders in the United Kingdom