Working Lives Research Institute
Mary Davis, WLRI External Associate and Deputy Director 2002-2009, has today (Tues 14th September), won an extremely rare and prestigious TUC award, the Women’s Gold Badge, at the 142nd annual Congress in Manchester.
The ‘Reps of the year’ awards recognise the outstanding achievement of union reps in representing women and young workers, learning at work, union organising and improving health and safety.
The winners received their awards from TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber at the Manchester Central convention centre during the afternoon session of Congress.
Mary Davis is a UCU member and has a long standing commitment to equality in the labour movement. Mary has devised, written and taught courses on trade union studies and labour history for a number of unions. Mary’s ambition has always been to make these materials as accessible as possible, particularly to women members. Mary also helped to found the Sylvia Pankhurst Memorial Committee which aims to establish a lasting memorial to Sylvia on College Green. Mary has been a dedicated trade unionist all her life and has contributed both to her own unions, NATFHE and UCU, and the TUC.
Commenting on the awards TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “The strength of unions lies in the tireless work of their reps and activists. When they receive their awards today the winners will be doing so on behalf of the thousands of reps who are the backbone of the union movement, working day in day out to make workplaces safer and fairer.
“From recruiting new members, getting people more active in their union, improving terms and conditions, ensuring workers’ safety and campaigning to make sure women’s voices are heard in unions, this year’s award winners have shown the value of union membership.
“I am delighted that their achievements have been recognised at Congress and they fully deserve the applause they receive from delegates.”
Steve Jefferys, Director of the Working Lives Research Institute, said: “This award could not be more deserved. Mary is a terrific champion for both trade unionism and feminism, and we are all really proud of her achievement.”
The Reps of the Year film, featuring Mary Davis, will also be available after Tuesday 14 September at www.CongressTV.tv