Bance joined the TUC on 6 July following 10 months as director of policy and communications at domestic violence charity SafeLives.
Between 2011 and 2014 she was head of campaigns at housing and homelessness charity Shelter. Prior to this she worked for various other charities including Oxfam. She also sits on the board of charity the Nationwide Foundation, and in the 2005 General Election unsuccessfully stood as a Labour candidate in Oxford West and Abingdon, which was won by the Liberal Democrats.
She arrives as the organisation, which has 52 member unions representing a total of six million workers across the UK, begins to co-ordinate the union movement’s response to the government’s Trade Union Bill, announced last week.
Bance told PRWeek: "It’s a challenging time for the union movement, but I’m looking forward to engaging Britain’s workers in campaigning to protect the rights we all rely on, and continuing to establish the TUC at the centre of the political debate as the voice of Britain at work."
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: "Antonia is a terrific appointment for the TUC. She has tremendous experience leading national social justice campaigns. Her expertise is an important asset for our movement at a time when the rights and freedoms of trade unions are under the most severe attack for a generation."
