In 1924, he was appointed Assistant General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress on account of his reputation for financial and administrative abilities. The TUC, though four to five million strong with over two hundred unions affiliated, had up to then been a largely ineffective body. As the General Secretary, Fred Bramley, was ill, Citrine took on a much wider role from the start. In time, he would transform it into a coherent and effective lobbying organisation for a growing movement.