TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady pledged total commitment yesterday to the campaign for a public inquiry into alleged police attacks at Orgreave in South Yorkshire during the 1984-85 strike against mine closures.

During the events outside Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkshire, police corralled picketers into a field where they were charged by police cavalry and attacked and beaten by police on foot.

Over 50 strikers were injured and 93 arrested, of whom 39 successfully sued for assaults, unlawful arrests and malicious prosecutions - but no officers were ever punished over the attack.

"I personally, and the TUC, will not rest until we get the truth about Orgreave," Ms O'Grady told attendees at the annual conference of Yorkshire and the Humber region TUC in Sheffield.

Ms O'Grady also called on trade unionists to learn the lessons of that time, when part of the NUM - particularly in Nottinghamshire - did not join the strike.

"If there is a lesson from 30 years ago it is that we will never walk into the bosses' trap and let them divide and rule us," she said.

In a wide-ranging attack on the coalition government she slammed welfare cuts hitting people already living in poverty even though they are working.

"Working people will be harest hit," she said.

"The majority of children in poverty have at least one parent working.

"It is going to mean more foodbanks, more loan sharks, more payday lenders."

She said if the government wanted to cut the welfare bill it should tackle greedy landlords raking in housing benefit through sky high rents.

On government claims that the economy is recovering, she said 80 per cent of new jobs were in London, and of those 80 per cent are low-paid.

"The recovery is neither balanced nor sustainable," she said.

She warned of ever increasing attacks on unions and workers if the Tories win the next general election, with some strikes being outlawed and changes to laws on strike ballots.