Frances Lorraine Maria O'Grady, Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (born 9 November 1959), is a British former trade unionist leader, who served as the

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the British

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC) from 2013 to 2022, being the first woman to hold the position. After O'Grady presented her resignation in 2022, Paul Nowak was selected to succeed her; he took up the post on 29 December 2022. O'Grady sits as a life peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Early life and family

O'Grady was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, one of five siblings in a family of Irish descent, and was brought up in the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith. Her father was a shop steward at the Leyland car plant in Cowley. She was educated at

Milham Ford School Milham Ford School was a girls' secondary school in Oxford, England, located in the suburb of New Marston on Marston Road. It was founded in East Oxford in the 1880s and closed in 2003. History The school's origins lie in the 1890s when sisters ...

, a grammar school which became comprehensive during her time there. At

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, she earned a BA

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, o ...

in politics and modern history. She received a Diploma in Industrial Relations and Trade Union Studies at

Middlesex Polytechnic Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

Career

O'Grady worked for the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

, where she opposed the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board, and campaigned for a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

. She became TUC Campaigns Secretary in 1994 and founded the TUC Organising Academy in 1997, a scheme aimed at supporting a younger and more representative group of workers to become

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

organisers. She became head of the TUC's organisation department in 1999, and was then elected as Deputy General Secretary in 2003. She led on the establishment of the union learning organisation unionlearn, which came into being in 2006. Unionlearn works with employers, unions and government to help around 220,000 workers per year to improve basic skills and access lifelong learning. She became TUC General Secretary in January 2013, succeeding

Brendan Barber Brendan Paul Barber, Baron Barber of Ainsdale (born 3 April 1951), is a British trade union official and life peer. He served as chair of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Council until 2020. He is a former general secre ...

. In 2013, in line with the TUC, she was among those who gave their support to the People's Assembly in a letter published by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. ' She has been a member of the Resolution Foundation's Commission on Living Standards, as well as serving on the TUC's Commission on Vulnerable Employment, the Low Pay Commission and the High Pay Commission. She has campaigned prominently during the referendum on EU membership, as the TUC registered for the remain side, particularly citing concerns around the impact on workers' rights and jobs in export led industries. O'Grady has led a protest outside Bestway, Britain's largest family owned business. In February 2013 she was, as a result of her efforts, assessed as the 11th most powerful woman in Britain by ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. She was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

in June 2019. In April 2022, O'Grady announced that she would leave her post as TUC's general secretary at the end of the year. She was succeeded by Paul Nowak in January 2023. It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part of the 2022 Special Honours, O'Grady would receive a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

, sitting for the Labour Party. On 9 December 2022, she was created Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway, ''of Wood Farm in the City of

''.

Personal life

O'Grady has two adult children, whom she raised as a working single parent, and currently lives in London.

References

External links

*
Official TUC page
on Frances O'Grady , - {{DEFAULTSORT:OGrady of Upper Holloway, Frances OGrady, Baroness 1959 births Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of Middlesex University English people of Irish descent General secretaries of the Trades Union Congress Living people People from Oxford Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Charles III Life peeresses created by Charles III 21st-century British politicians 21st-century British women politicians Trade unionists from Oxfordshire Women trade union leaders