I am seeking election to the position of PCS Vice President. I have been a member of PCS and its predecessor union, CPSA, since 1984 when I joined the civil service. I am employed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) at the Glasgow Working Age Service Centre. I have been a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) since 2012 and have been a member of the DWP Group Executive Committee (GEC) since 2009. I am currently Acting PCS Vice President, DWP Group Vice-President, and a representative in the DWP Glasgow Branch.

By voting Democracy Alliance NEC in the forthcoming election, you will be voting for a leadership that delivered for members last year in our campaign on pay, jobs and pensions. Significant concessions were won from the Government by members taking industrial action, but clearly, we did not achieve all we wanted. However, as much as this was welcome, we still have some way to go to get the pay rise our members deserve. We have also seen off any attempt to cut redundancy payments by up to 33% paused until after the next General Election. This was a big concession from the Government as it formed part of the Conservative Party manifesto for the 2019 General Election.

The Democracy Alliance led NEC have taken forward a bold industrial action strategy which included targeted action, supplemented with national action when it would have the maximum impact. Furthermore, every PCS member contributed to the campaign whether taking unpaid action on the three days of national action or by paying into a strike levy which enabled PCS to take thousands of members out on paid action from the union. The strategy that the Democracy Alliance led NEC developed minimised the financial impact on members. We listened to members and factored their concerns when taking the campaign forward. Unlike our opponents in this election who argued for a substantial increase in unpaid action, which our members told us repeatedly they could not afford. Thankfully 90% of members who voted in a consultative ballot on the national campaign supported our strategy.

Despite those successes achieved last year, it is now looking increasingly likely that we are going to have to ballot members again this year as despite constructive talks with the Cabinet Office. It is scandalous that, once again, thousands of staff in the AO and AA grades will receive a National Living Wage uplift in April. The government have allowed this to happen and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

In addition to pay, pensions and jobs, a Democracy Alliance led NEC will continue to campaign for:

• adequate staffing levels
• opposing office closures
• opposing all privatisation
• defending the welfare state
• promoting equality and opposing all forms of discrimination
• defending refugees fleeing persecution

Please vote for me and the strong, determined, and experienced Democracy Alliance  candidates in the forthcoming NEC election under the leadership of new General Secretary, Fran Heathcote.