For Assistant Group Secretary

I have been an active trade union member and activist since the late 1980s with over 26 years’ experience as a union representative with PCS and legacy unions, supporting, defending and representing members’ interests and campaigning for improvements in pay, terms, and conditions. Over the years I have been active in multiple campaigns to defend and further the interests of our members across all sectors of our community and have been active in the anti-racism movement.

I am currently an Assistant Group Secretary on the Revenue and Customs Group Executive committee and hold the negotiating portfolio for FIS, RIS, SOLS and the Adjudicator’s Office. I am also one of the vice chairs of the PCS Midlands Regional Committee and sit on the National Executive Committee.

The cost of living crisis, presided over by the current Government, has seen thousands of our members struggle to make ends meet. Increasing numbers of our colleagues are having to resort to using food banks and to claiming in-work benefits. In April, due to ongoing low pay, thousands of our members will receive a pay increase just to prevent their salaries dropping below the National minimum wage. Across all pay grades members are choosing to leave the Civil Service in ever increasing numbers due to over a decade of low or no pay growth, austerity politics and years of neglect by successive Governments. It’s not that many months ago that Civil Servants were classified as Key Workers, keeping the UK functioning through the Covid pandemic. It’s time that the thanks came in the form of proper recognition and not just a weekly round of applause.

Towards the end of last year, we embarked on a strategy for fighting for a reasonable pay rise across the Civil Service, for the recovery of our overpaid pension contributions, against detrimental changes to the redundancy scheme, and to protect jobs against cuts and privatisation. The agreed strategy is designed to keep the impact on members as low as practicably possible while demonstrating to our employer the value of every single Civil Servant in our campaign for a better deal. As a socialist and member of Left Unity I am proud of all our union has done, and continues to do, to support, defend and further our members interests.

I am standing for re-election as an Assistant Group Secretary so that I can continue using my enthusiasm and experience to continue the fight to improve members’ pay and conditions, fight against the pensions robbery, defend jobs against privatisation and outsourcing, against cuts to our redundancy terms, to keep our workplaces safe, and for the fairness, equality and equity every one of our members deserve.

I encourage you to use your vote in these elections and to vote for my fellow Left Unity candidates.