I’ve been a PCS activist for 22 years and a member of LU since my first National Conference in 2003.
Over the years I have been a Branch Rep, Branch Organiser, Health and Safety officer, Union Learning Rep, DWP Group Executive Committee member and Ops TU Secretary. As a member of the GEC it has also been my privilege to be able to run courses to train a number of Reps on the New Reps course and on the Personal Case’s Course.
I am proud to be a member of a group that I believe hasn’t just shown leadership within PCS but in the wider Trade Union Movement throughout the years.
I have always believed that we cannot lose sight of the fact that members and their issues are why we are TU Representatives and why we need a strong Leadership so we can deliver for them.
Our members are the Union and we need to keep focusing on their circumstances. That’s why I firmly stand behind the National Campaign which focussed on fighting for pay whilst recognising that members could not afford to take the ‘all out’ strategy that our opponents were arguing for. To take
underpaid members out on indefinite strike in the middle of a cost of living crisis would have been an act of folly.
That’s why I believe that the current LU Leadership and those who have been nominated by LU are key to our way forward, as our record shows that we can be trusted to deliver for members.
The current Government have taken the civil service for granted with pay and conditions of service. They are now calling for 60% of time spent in the office despite knowing that after closing a number of offices during COVID that there isn’t the capacity for this. All of it is done for tabloid headlines rather than any real thought out plan. We need a strong GEC to continue to fight back on this.
I am therefore seeking to continue my work on the GEC along with my LU colleagues to further the fight for better pay and conditions, to ensure staff safety and to organise members in our struggle.
Recruiting new members to the union, including those joining DWP for the first time, will be key to ensuring we build our strength and our voice for members at work. I will work to ensure that every new entrant into the Department is not only asked to join PCS but is shown why it’s so important they are part of the fight for their interests at work.
Only where we have good organisation and good reps speaking up for members can we continue to win concessions. I as part of Left Unity am determined to ensure we have both in DWP.
Please vote for me and the other Left Unity candidates in the forthcoming DWP Group election and elect Angela Grant as the new Group President