I’m seeking nomination for a committee member post on the NEC. I was honoured to have been elected to the NEC previously in 2022 and 2023 and grasped the opportunity to work with sub-committees like international committee on human rights with Amnesty International UK, Anti-war campaigns with Ukraine, Solidarity with Palestine and the National Women’s Forum.

I’m a proud longstanding PCS member since January 1991 when I joined the Civil Service, employed by HMPPS. I became an active rep in 2007 and held several Branch and Group roles, consulting and negotiating on key member issues such as pay and employment rights. Currently, I’m a Group Assistant Secretary in MOJ group and the Chair of the National Trade Union Side in HMPPS, co-ordinating and working with other unions on all national level employment matters.

I’ve supported members in casework and collective bargaining, I represent members in the workplace and more recently, as a local councillor, I represent the views of the local community too, thereby acting as a conduit for people to have a voice in many areas of life.

I’m keen to ensure that this year the membership will be supported not least in the following:

Job Security – In addition to imposed budget cuts to all departments which threatens our jobs, Artificial Intelligence (AI), is ever closer and it threatens the way we currently work. I believe this year, we will need to be ready to ensure that first and foremost we safeguard jobs and that any introduction of AI in our workplaces must only be a force for good.

Pay – decades of delegated pay bargaining has resulted in huge disparities of pay across our departments, resulting in poor staff retention, and many staff uplifted each year to the  National Living Wage, this is an appalling state so we must strengthen our call this year for Civil Service wide collective bargaining on pay, in the Employment Rights Bill reforms .

National Campaign – I have supported the levy in the past when it was right to do so, when we had a mandate for strike action but this time it is wrong, and we should demand its ceased. Without a live mandate, the majority NEC have recklessly voted to impose the continued levy without consulting members and without having a legitimate need. Members quite rightly, are furious!

Over the next 12 months we will need a strong committed NEC who will face head on the challenges we face with pay restoration, artificial intelligence, employment legislation, collective pay bargaining, Environment, International and Equality.

I’m standing for the NEC for a further term on the Democracy Alliance slate. The alliance are united with shared values and are committed to working collaboratively to get this union back on the right tracks for the sole interest of the membership. It is committed to building on its previous track record, and I firmly believe the NEC needs the following experienced, and diverse members who are representative of our membership: