I am again seeking your support for the post of Group Vice-President in this years GEC elections. It has been an honour to serve under the Presidency of Angela Grant after 5 years myself as DWP President, and I stand on my record as an activist for over 30 years within our union.

I was proud to be part of the PCS leadership that led thousands of our members in taking action in 2023 and 2024, which put more money in members pockets, doubling the Treasury remit, gaining the £1500 lump sum, and convincing the new Government to offer the first above inflation Treasury remit in over twenty years.

The action also forced the right-wing Tory government to shelve its proposed 33% cut to your compensation scheme and redundancy terms.

I was immensely proud to lead our group past the anti-union ballot threshold for the only time in our group’s history, in November 2022, and identify branches who took part in the successful targeted strike action.

Of course, we need to still do much more, and if elected back on to the GEC, I will work hard alongside my comrades, to repeat the level of membership and activist support we have seen in the recent past.

I was a leading advocate of the national strategy that maximised the pressure on government and employers, and minimised the financial burden on PCS members and their families, and I consistently voted to pause the Levy in my role as National President alongside other Left Unity comrades. Finally achieving that goal in February.

Of course the national campaign and pay aren’t the only issues affecting you, as staff shortages lead to increased pressure and workloads for our members across DWP.

It is why the Left Unity leadership of the GEC launched the staffing campaign last year, and continue to consult branches as to their readiness to take action to achieve the staffing levels we need.

The Left Unity leadership of our group have also prioritised defending members impacted by the Skilled Workers Visa changes, and have launched a campaign to the change government policy that if successful will save hundreds of jobs, and this year have been the Vice-President with responsibility for outsourced worker members in DWP, as we have launched our first ever strikes in G4S.

The current group leadership understands members priorities and over the past two years have also negotiated:

• the largest recruitment of new staff in two decades
• the biggest ever conversion of FTA staff to permanent
• an improved attendance management policy that has drastically reduced the number of warnings and dismissals
• organised a series of themed lunchtime equality events that have helped provide much needed advice on HR policy and personal casework

As a socialist and member of Left Unity, I urge you to vote for Angela Grant to lead our group in the year ahead, myself as Vice-President, and all the Left Unity candidates listed on this website.