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George Woodcock
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George Woodcock

English labor leader
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Quick Facts
Born:
Oct. 20, 1904, Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, Eng.
Died:
Oct. 30, 1979, Epsom, Surrey
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George Woodcock (born Oct. 20, 1904, Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, Eng.—died Oct. 30, 1979, Epsom, Surrey) was an English labour leader who was general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) from 1960 to 1969.

A weaver at the age of 12, Woodcock won a scholarship to Ruskin College in 1929 and then received high honours in philosophy and political economy at Oxford in 1933. He joined the TUC staff in 1936, becoming assistant general secretary in 1947 and general secretary in 1960. In 1969 he resigned to become chairman of a new Commission on Industrial Relations and held that post until 1971.

Woodcock was known as an adroit administrator and conciliator who fought to make the TUC more of a partner of government and industry in solving national economic ills. He was successful in convincing English unions to accept wage restraints and higher productivity standards. Woodcock was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1953 and appointed a Privy Councillor in 1967.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.