"My Lords, I will be very brief, partly to remind all noble Lords that the shop workers’ union, USDAW, under Joanne Thomas, the current leader, Paddy Lillis before her and, indeed, John Hannett—the noble Lord, Lord Hannett—has campaigned for years for freedom from fear for a predominantly female workforce facing …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"Before the Minister sits down, I think there was appetite among many of us to see the beginnings of a strategy for each sector that we know is facing rising violence. I know that that is not within the gift of the Minister, but a request to talk to Ministers …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Unionlearn, which my noble friend Lord Blunkett should take a good deal of credit for, and which, at its peak, together with union learning reps, helped a quarter of a million workers into learning for the first time. Many of them …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, prisoners on remand are, of course, innocent until proven guilty and as such are entitled to certain privileges in respect of clothing, family visits and reading materials. Will the Minister agree to meet legal representatives of prisoners and initiate his own review of whether those entitlements are being …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, alongside many other people across this House, I welcome this Government’s focus on reducing violence, and in particular the introduction of those new measures on non-disclosure agreements that silenced thousands and thousands, particularly women, who were facing harassment. That is serious when you are at work trying to …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer, but does she accept that the case for change is urgent? Most forms of parental leave are unpaid or pitifully low paid: £187 a week equates to less than half the national minimum wage, and many mums and dads and …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I support what I understand to be probing amendments in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Blower, but first I want to seek clarification from my noble friend the Minister on government Amendment 372. I do so from the perspective of someone who had direct responsibility for …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, my noble friend the Minister is absolutely right that the big impact on investment, and therefore productivity, in the UK came as a result of austerity policies, a poor Brexit deal and a failure of industrial policy. However, I want to ask about quality of management in the …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I add my support for these probing amendments and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, for her work on this issue. I strongly welcome the Government’s promise to launch the largest crackdown in history to reduce violence against women and girls. While of course the misery of …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech