For Vice President

It has been a privilege to serve as a National Vice President of PCS as well Group President for MoJ. I am asking for your support as I stand for re-election as PCS National Vice President.

I have many years of experience as a PCS Representative and senior key negotiator. I represent members individually as well as collectively in high level negotiations. I’m crown court clerk based in the North East, where I witness daily the results poverty has, on society. I am standing for re-election because I truly believe that I make a difference to the lives of members at all levels and wish to continue this.

I feel important is to be visible to members. To this end, I engage regularly in one-to-one conversations with members as well as with large groups of members. I ask them what matters to them. It is only by listening to their concerns and opinions and, learning from their experiences that we can truly represent their needs. That is the way to understand what is important to member and to support and fight with members to achieve those things. I am not sat apart from members I am with them. As an EO in a Crown Court I am also impacted by the things impacting them and I am fuelled by a desire to improve collectively our working lives.

I am a fervent believer in equality this underpins everything we do and we can only say we have achieved equality when there is no need of equality groups. As that is a way off yet, so we must keep going. As Vice President and Chair of the women’s committee I have built up engagement to link it in with organising and campaigning. Women make up over 60% of members and almost 70% of workers. I have worked around the barriers and obstacles that women members often have, in order to ensure greater participation in the Union and by doing do this helps create a greater more representative voice. It is important that women members see their concerns are heard, not ignored and that they are not treated less favourably. It is important that in PCS the NEC is reflective of its workforce in order that it fully represent its members. In a lay led union everyone has a voice.

I have also worked to give PCS and its members a voice internationally, this is not as exotic as it may sound! As part of my role I have forged links with our sister unions across Europe. The workers across Europe have similar experiences in relation to pay, job security etc and often their day to day living mirrors ours. Despite Brexit we still have opportunities to learn from our European counterparts and their experiences and remedies. In turn those unions can learn from us. I have garnered support from the European civil service unions as we mount industrial action on pay, thus raising our campaign across Europe. Some countries report a rise in the far right, something which we need to be wary and mindful of here.

I have organised the committee to provide regular updates on the PCS website so that we reach the widest audience. I have worked to raise the profile of the International Committee and the importance of its role. In doing so it has resulted in ordinary members attended the Palestine Conference. Following on from this I organised a well attended forum event with guest speakers detailing the plight of Women in Iran. If re-elected I wish to continue with this work and organising these type of events for members as these demonstrate the full range of work we cover in PCS and give valuable insight. I have organised the committee to provide regular updates on the new PCS website so that we reach the widest audience.

Along with the committee work and bargaining meetings the National Campaign itself has been led by the Democracy Alliance. It has been a huge undertaking and has delivered a fantastic ballot result on pay. This was achieved through good consultation and good communication and lots of commitment and hard work from the members on this list and lay reps up and down the country. The successful pay ballot has already seen 1000s of members vote for and take strike action. I am proud to stand with members on picket lines, to speak with members, to support members and be a voice for members inside and outside the work-place and the work arena. I am proud to be a part of this team, the Democracy Alliance, who listen and act. No member should be choosing between eating and heating all members deserve a wage that keeps pace with the cost of living.

I am standing and asking for your vote because I wish to remain a voice for the worker and because I believe in power the collective voice can give to our members. Continuity, experience and a strong track record are vital for PCS to continue to grow and thrive. I along with the other members on this list can deliver the very best for members so please vote for me and all Democracy Alliance candidates. Thank-you