I am honoured to be seeking re-election as Group Assistant Secretary.

I have been a rep and a member of Left Unity for 19 years. I became the first female Chair of the DWP Glasgow Branch in 2015, and held this position until stepping down in 2022.

I was elected as Chair of the PCS Scotland Committee in 2022, and have been elected as co-convenor of the newly established Scottish Executive Committee.

I have been a member of the National Executive Committee since 2021.

I was elected onto the Group Executive Committee in 2019. I was co-opted to the role of Group Journal Editor in 2020, and elected to this post in 2021, before being elected as Group Assistant Secretary in 2022.

I have been involved in a variety of Equality Committees throughout my time as a rep. I currently sit on the National Women’s Forum, and I also represent PCS on the STUC Women’s Committee. I believe our members are the lifeblood of our union, and that we should be representative of all of our members.

As Group Assistant Secretary I have responsibility for consulting with UC, WSD and DSDMWA directors, meeting with the advisory committees for these directorates to establish the issues to take forward, as well as meeting the employer at Departmental TUS level. I also have responsibility for Scottish Social Security, I sit on the Campaigns Committee and the Pay Team, and I am the Vice Chair of the Group Editorial Board.

The Left Unity led GEC has worked tirelessly throughout the year to defend our members’ rights, and building our staffing campaign. We hear from members and reps on a daily basis about how the work is piling up and there is not enough staff to do the job. Our members are telling us that they are at breaking point, and we continue to push for a resolution.

Our pay team met with the employer on the pay award, where we ensured that our lower paid members were given a better award than was originally on offer, including a bigger share of the non-consolidated bonus, however the employer did not agree to all of our demands around the cost of living pay or using the full pay remit to address low pay or pay anomalies, instead using this for specialist pay.

Talks have been taking place nationally with the Cabinet Office, however it is becoming clear that there will be the need to ballot members for action, pending the outcome of the consultation exercise being run by our NEC. Our GEC will strive to be at the forefront once more of this campaign. A Left Unity led GEC is the only way to ensure that happens.

I am proud to be a member of Left Unity, and if re-elected as Group Assistant Secretary I will continue to be a strong voice on the GEC, campaigning on behalf of all of our members.

I urge all members to vote for me and for all of the Left Unity candidates in order to ensure we have the strongest team possible to continue to fight for our members.