Frances O'Grady quotes
-
“I cherish the creation of public space and services, especially health, housing and the comprehensive education system which dared to give so many of us ideas 'above our station.'”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "Citizens before corporations". www.theguardian.com. July 20, 2009.
-
“I worry that some politicians still think we are living in the 1950s where the man is the main breadwinner and the woman works for pin money. Actually, most families where there are two parents depend on two incomes to get by.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“Ordinary people who have lots of good ideas want more than a suggestion box, and they need a union to represent that thinking.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "TUC leader Frances O'Grady: 'People want some hope for the future'". Interview with Hélène Mulholland, www.theguardian.com. September 5, 2012.
-
“All the evidence shows very clearly that if you are a member of a trade union you are likely to get better pay, more equal pay, better health and safety, more chance to get training, more chance to have conditions of work that help if you have caring responsibilities ... the list goes on!”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "The history woman". Interview with Hélène Mulholland, www.theguardian.com. September 6, 2006.
-
-
“Britain is a textbook case of how growing inequality leads to economic crisis. The years before the crash were marked by a sharp rise in remortgaging and the growth of 0% balance transfer credit cards. By 2008 the UK had the highest ratio of household debt to GDP of any major economy.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "Pay equality and strong unions will put Britain back to work" by Frances O'Grady, www.theguardian.com. August 4, 2012.
-
“I suspect there are people in all walks of life who need to be dragged into the 21st century in terms of attitudes towards women.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“RFK was a compelling figure because he was willing to challenge his audiences, and in turn connect with them in a unique way. Kennedy showed that our values define us and can inspire others to believe in the possibility of change and a better society.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "Citzens before corporations". www.theguardian.com. July 20, 2009.
-
“Washing dishes as a 17-year-old in an Oxford college and seeing the privileged lifestyles of the undergraduates there convinced me that a system that allowed luxury for the few at the expense of the many needed to be challenged.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
-
“We too often hear about red tape but what they mean is the vital rights of workers.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
-
“The TUC's new slogan 'a future that works' sets a profound challenge. Austerity and rapid deficit reduction is failing in its own terms, but even at its best it is short-sighted, muddle-through politics with no vision of a new economic model.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“I am a feminist and I have no problems being called that.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "Never mind glass ceilings, what about glass skirting boards?". Interview with Kevin Maguire, www.theguardian.com. January 29, 2003.
-
“As long as the number one worry for people, keeping them up at nights, is whether they're going to have a job in the morning, then they are less likely to resist unfair changes, or unfair treatment, or cuts in real pay at work.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "TUC leader Frances O'Grady: 'People want some hope for the future'" by Kira Cochrane, www.theguardian.com. September 5, 2012.
-
-
“I'd be happy to have regular face-to-face meetings at Downing Street with David Cameron to argue the case for alternative economic policies.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“I do know what it's like to worry about bills, I do know what it's like to worry about even finding a child-minder, never mind paying them.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“The backwoodsmen are muttering about making Britain's draconian union laws - already among the toughest in Europe - harsher still. And parts of the media will continue to attack public service pensions, as if school meals staff, refuse collectors and healthcare workers have no right to a decent retirement.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“A business is good if it gives a decent day's reward for a decent day's work, treats people decently, and gives them a voice at the top.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
-
“The implication that women work for pin money and can manage on a worse pension, presumably by relying on husbands, riles. But even more galling for women is that few government ministers seem to even appreciate the value of the work they do.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "The derisory pensions offer hits women workers hard" by Frances O'Grady, www.theguardian.com. November 30, 2011.
-
“I think being a mother helps keep your feet on the ground. There's very little dignity in parenthood. It's a great leveller.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "'Never mind glass ceilings, what about glass skirting boards?'". Interview with Kevin Maguire, www.theguardian.com. January 29, 2003.
-
“When I look at my daughter, who's 24, she is much more confident than I ever was and her expectations are higher. But I worry that there is a backlash brewing against progress on equality.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“Governments of all stripes want to deliver growth and rebalance their economies now that they have learned the hard way that, left to their own devices, markets pick expensive banking losers.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
-
“Each day more coalition MPs in seats outside the South East come out against George Osborne's regional pay cut plans, and Vince Cable now claims they are dead.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“I came from a family where joining a union was the expected thing to do. I've always believed that the relationship between an employer and an individual worker is fundamentally unequal.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“My first hero, as a teenager, was James Connolly. I remember discovering that he was a feminist, and that was an eye-opener, coming from a man of such poverty.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“Voting to go on strike is not a decision working people take lightly and is always accompanied by a strong sense of injustice at work. The impact of losing a day's pay is significant, not least for those in the lowest paid jobs who are already on the tightest budgets.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : " To strike is a right - stop trying to deter the low-paid from exercising it" by Frances O'Grady, www.theguardian.com. June 18, 2012.
-
-
“Would I describe myself as new Labour? I'm Labour, organised Labour. I think labels have a limited use and that's where you really get into boy stuff sometimes, just sticking on labels.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“My impression is that most women public service workers have a long fuse. Precisely because they care so deeply about services, more than anyone, they still want to find a sensible and fair negotiated agreement. But their patience has run out.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "The derisory pensions offer hits women workers hard" by Frances O'Grady, www.theguardian.com. November 30, 2011.
-
“With real wages still falling for many, people are increasingly being forced to use their credit cards, their dwindling savings, or take out payday or doorstep loans if they need to buy anything beyond the most everyday of items.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "Cost of living crisis: We are £40 a week worse off under the Tories" by Stephen Hayward, www.mirror.co.uk. March 22, 2014.
-
“I like independent films... European films. I do go and see popular films as well because my kids force me.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
-
“The UK has a poor investment record. According to IMF data, we have come seventh out of the top seven industrialised countries since 1999.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“Although there's a lot of focus on the Lib Dems, we need to keep our eyes on the far right of the Tories, who I suspect will become increasingly impatient in their appetite for tax cuts, deregulation and shrinking the state even further.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“In the U.S. the powerful critics of austerity such as Paul Krugman and Robert Reich rightly identify the decline of 'labor' as a problem, and renewing trade unionism part of the solution. Our opportunity is to make the same case in the UK.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“I want a society that provides decent jobs for those who can work and decent security for those can't.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "Citizens before corporations". www.theguardian.com. July 20, 2009.
-
-
“There is this sense of David Cameron leading a Government that's badly out of touch with ordinary people's lives. I'd absolutely welcome the opportunity to show all political leaders what life is like for most people.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "A single mum and the first female face of trade unionism - meet Frances O'Grady, Queen of the TUC" by Kevin Maguire, www.mirror.co.uk. July 16, 2012.
-
“You just wish sometimes that people would treat you like a human being rather than seeing your gender first and who you are second.”
-- Frances O'GradySource : "Never mind glass ceilings, what about glass skirting boards?". Interview with Kevin Maguire, www.theguardian.com. January 29, 2003.
-
“There are lots of small businesses in Britain that have a pretty tough time but many of them are also parts of supply chains, the leave side roll out JCB but that's one company, all the experts are saying the economy would take a big hit if we came out of the EU.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
“Of course, no-one thinks the EU is perfect. In recent years, the pace of social reform has slowed. But staying in offers the chance to rebuild a vision of Europe for workers, regardless of the passport they hold.”
-- Frances O'Grady -
-
“A vision of Europe fit for the 21st century and a practical plan to deliver strong rights, decent jobs and livelihoods, with strong unions at its heart, is one worth fighting for.”
-- Frances O'Grady
You may also like:
-
Arthur Scargill
Politician -
Bob Crow
Labor Union Leader -
Ed Balls
British Politician -
Ed Miliband
British Politician -
Laurie Penny
Journalist -
Owen Jones
Columnist -
Polly Toynbee
Journalist -
Tony Benn
Former Member of the European Parliament -
Jeremy Corbyn
Politician
