I have been a member of PCS since I joined the civil service in 1999. I was raised by trade unionists. My mother was a rep in EIS for many years before she retired, and my father had been a shop steward when he worked as a screen printer. Thanks to this upbringing, I have always held the belief that you should join and play an active part in your trade union.

I have been a rep and a member of Left Unity for 20 years, having initially played a part in an advocate-type role. I started as a Union Learning Rep, then Branch Equality Officer, before being elected as the first female Chair of the DWP Glasgow Branch in 2015, proudly holding this position until stepping down in 2022.

I was elected to the DWP GEC in 2019. I was co-opted to Group Journal Editor role in 2020 and elected to this role in 2021, before being elected as Group Assistant Secretary in 2022.

I have sat on the PCS Scotland Committee at various periods over a number of years, elected as Vice Chair in 2019, and as Chair in 2022. I was actively involved in setting up the Scottish Executive Committee, and I am Co-Convenor of this committee.

I have been involved in a variety of Equality Committees throughout my time as a rep, and currently represent PCS on the STUC Women’s Committee, and have recently taken up post as one of the Vice Chairs. I believe our members are the lifeblood of our union, and that we should be representative of all of our members.

I was elected to the NEC in 2021, and sat on this committee until last year. During my time on the NEC I sat on a number of committees, including the Devolved Administration Committee, National Editorial Board, and the National Women’s Forum. I currently represent the SEC on the Devolved Administration Committee and the National Women’s Forum.

I strongly believe that the previous Democracy Alliance led NEC’s strategy of action over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms was the correct one. Our members deserve a pay rise that not only rewards them for the work they continued to carry out throughout the pandemic, but also allows them to keep up with the cost of living and more. Our members also deserve to be paid back the money they are owed from overpaying into their pensions, not forced to cover the cost of this. We listened to our members who have told us that one or two day strikes do not work, as well as those who told us that they cannot afford to strike. Our strategy allowed us to target areas where we believed would have the best impact, taking members out for days at a time while they received strike pay for doing so, something that was only made possible by members contributing to our fighting fund via a levy. We were then able to use national action alongside other unions at times that would have maximum impact.

Our strategy did win significant gains for our members, however we know that it wasn’t enough, and nowhere near what we were demanding. Taking a pause on action to enter into talks at departmental level and with the Cabinet Office was the correct decision, endorsed by the membership by ballot.

With a new government elected in 2024, it was also only correct to allow time for talks to be held with the new administration. When the pay remit was published, showing an amount over the rate of inflation for the first time in years, our pay teams in all groups were prepared to enter into talks and fight for the best pay offer that takes into account the national living wage. However the current NEC majority would not allow talks to happen. It was only through pressure placed on them by LU and Democracy activists and groups that they backed down on this.

Given that there is currently no action taking place as part of the national campaign, I firmly believe that there should be a pause on the levy that members are continuing to pay into. The current NEC majority however, do not agree with this stance, and have voted to continue to take money from our members that they can barely afford to pay with no return.

I am extremely proud of the work that the previous NEC had done in taking the government to court, and challenging their Rwanda policy, a policy that was found to be illegal and has subsequently been scrapped. Our Safe Passage policy is fundamental in this fight, and we will continue the fight for the rights of refugees fleeing persecution.

I have been involved with Stand Up To Racism since 2019 on behalf of PCS Scotland Committee, and have spoken on behalf of PCS at their Glasgow rallies on UN Anti Racism Day, as well as speaking at fringe meetings at STUC Congress and addressing local campaigns. I have spoken at many public events on the Rwanda scheme, and had asylum seekers approach me to express their gratitude for the work the NEC had been doing to challenge this.

I have spoken on behalf of our union at vigils for Sheku Bayoh, bringing messages of love, support and solidarity to his family in their quest for justice. I am proud of the work PCS has done alongside SUTR to challenge racism in the workplace and in the wider society.

Our members need and deserve the strong leadership Democracy Alliance can and has provided, and if elected I will work alongside this NEC to build on the work and campaign for our members on all issues.