Key speech takes place at Black Country venue.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady will warn today, at the inaugural Mary Macarthur lecture in Rowley Regis, that many women in the West Midlands are at risk of being left behind as they risk becoming trapped in in-work poverty.
Frances will tell guests at the event, held at the Blackheath Coronation Club and named in honour of the women’s rights and trades union activist who stood for Parliament in the Stourbridge constituency in 1919, that a growing number of women in the region are being employed on poverty wages. “Here in Rowley Regis over two-fifths of female workers earn less than the living the wage. Try telling them the recovery is fair, when they are struggling make ends meet and pay the bills.
“Women are being employed on poverty pay across the West Midlands, as many find themselves trapped in insecure work.
“We need to rediscover the spirit of the Chainmakers if the rewards of growth are to be shared more fairly. In this new era of zero-hours contracts and casualisation, collective bargaining has never been more important. Without a better deal for women and stronger unions, millions of low-paid workers will continue to be left behind.”
