I’m now seeking election to be part of the DWP GEC as Journal Editor to continue to fight for fairness for members and in society. The PCS Voice is an important tool for communicating with our members to show what we are doing to achieve this and to target our campaigns to the right people at the right time. I understand the value of communicating with members, both during important campaigns, as well as throughout the year.

I’ve been a committed Trade Unionist since joining the DWP 31 years ago. I am an active member of PCS and of Left Unity, who I have witnessed being the strongest grouping in PCS, fighting for fairness and equal treatment, both in the workplace and in society. I currently hold positions as Branch Secretary for DWP Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Branch, Regional Secretary for DWP Eastern Region, Vice Chair of PCS Eastern Region Committee and am one of the DWP Operational TUS Secretaries.

I was proud to have been part of and taken an active role in last year’s national campaign on pay, which saw a pay increase of significantly more than the 2% originally on offer, as well as a lump sum payment for the previous year that wouldn’t have been won without the action taken on the strategy organised by Left Unity. Led by Left Unity the union also achieved a major win on compensation payments, which saw off the proposed cuts with an agreement that this wouldn’t be looked at again until after the next General Election.

However, this isn’t the end of these battles as many of our members are still on disgracefully low pay, which will again see many return to the National Minimum Wage, when this is uplifted in the Spring. This simply isn’t good enough and Left Unity members will again have to lead the way on fighting this and the expected derisory, below inflation pay offer for this year, whilst there have been huge increases in the cost of living over recent years which will continue to bite, leaving many of our members in hardship.

Equally important in the year ahead is ensuring a successful DWP Staffing Campaign to ensure we have sufficient staff to deliver the important services that our members deliver and reduce the horrific tales of stress that we have heard from members as a result of the pressures caused by the current understaffing in DWP.

2024 will also see the need for the union to defend our members against the continued threats to our services and jobs created by the further expansion of Artificial Intelligence, by privatisation, by proposed reductions to our estate and by the government’s lack of trust in it’s own staff to work on a hybrid basis and it’s subsequent suggestions to detrimentally change the Hybrid Working Policy.

To be successful in these challenges will require the continued backing and support of our membership across the country. To achieve this, I will continue to work and organise to strengthen our organisation and membership density in areas that are currently less well supported. Without maximising support on a nationwide basis, it will be harder to achieve our goals. I am an activist working in a traditionally Conservative part of the country, where the public have perhaps been less supportive of trade unions and some of our members and non-members have often had different priorities to those from areas that are traditionally more supportive of what we are trying to achieve. I want to be part of a Left Unity led GEC and work with them to get the message across to these members that our issues affect us all and then to ensure there is a clear understanding of the levels of support in these areas and what we can do to continue to improve. If we can improve our turn outs by a few percentage points further for future ballots, this will in turn continue to provide PCS with the extra leverage that will help us achieve our goals for all of our members.

If elected as Editor, I will ensure we keep our members up to date with the issues that affect them and what we are doing to address their concerns. I will use the role to ensure members can see the work done for them by the union on a daily basis and what we are doing to address their concerns and how the employer is responding to. This will help keep our members better informed and have more understanding of the actions being taken on their behalf and better understand their own place at the heart of PCS.