Christine Mary Keates (born 10 October 1951) is a British

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

Early life

Keates grew up in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surroun ...

and attended Thistley Hough Girls' School, a girls'

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, ...

now called

Thistley Hough Academy Thistley Hough Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in the village of Penkhull in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The school was built in 1938 as a girls' grammar school, housed in a classical Art Deco building. The old ...

, before studying Archaeology and History at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_la ...

, then completing a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...

at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

.Chris Keates: the gentle face of trade unionism
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 12 April 2006

Career

From 1974 until 1998, she worked as a teacher in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. Keates was active in the

National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers The NASUWT is a TUC-affiliated trade union representing teachers, including headteachers, throughout the United Kingdom. The early years 1919–1976; breakaway and the formation of a new union The origins of the NASUWT can be traced back to ...

(NASUWT), becoming the union's Assistant General Secretary in 1998, then Deputy General Secretary in 2001 and General Secretary in 2004.Gary Daniels and John McIlroy, ''Trade Unions in a Neoliberal World'' At the time, she was the only woman to lead any of the ten largest unions in the UK. As leader of the NASUWT, Keates initially pursued a policy of co-operation with the Labour government, signing a workload agreement, in contrast to the rival

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NUT members endorsed a proposed merger with ...

(NUT). However, she was highly critical of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

-led governments from 2010 onwards, working with the NUT to oppose changes which she described as an "unparalleled vicious assault" on teachers. Keates also serves on the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...

,
TUC General Council members
"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keates, Chris 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of the University of Leicester Schoolteachers from Staffordshire General Secretaries of NASUWT Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Penkhull Women trade unionists