I am asking for your support in the upcoming PCS DWP GEC elections for the position of Group Assistant Secretary. During my 10 years as a PCS Representative, I have held elected positions at all levels of PCS. I have served on my BEC as Branch Organiser, ULR and Branch Secretary, and I am currently Branch Chair for DWP Liverpool Branch, DWP GEC Assistant Secretary, Vice Chair of PCS NW Regional Committee and I am an elected member of the PCS NEC.
I have attended Northwest TUC Conference as a delegate numerous times, and I am delegate to NW TUC Regional Council, this has given me a platform to promote PCS campaigns.
In my Branch, I have organised and led on campaigns against office closures, and on national campaigns for pay, pensions and terms and conditions. I work with activists from sister Unions on a number of local Anti-Cuts/Community campaigns and Antiracist/Antifascist community work and I am proud to represent PCS in this capacity.

I was first elected to the Group Executive Committee in 2019 as an ordinary member and in 2020 I was elected as a Group Assistant Secretary. It has been an absolute honour and privilege to be elected as a Group Assistant Secretary each year since.

The different roles I have held on the GEC along with the support of fellow Left Unity Group officers and members, has allowed me to build on the experience I gained from the work carried out at branch and regional level. I work closely with our Advisory Committees across TU Operations and this has helped me broaden my knowledge of the major issues impacting all of our members.

Despite the change in government, we are already seeing U Turns on election pledges that will have a huge impact on workers. It is vital that the Trade Unions are in a strong position to apply maximum pressure on this government to ensure they fulfil their election promises and make significant improvements to the quality of life for working people after 14 years of Tory austerity and the cost-of-living crisis. The proposed changes to Disability benefits and the new Fraud, Error & Debt bill will also have a huge impact on DWP staff who are already struggling to manage huge caseloads while staffing rates are still well below what is required. The fight for fair pay is far from over, this year’s pay remit is yet to be announced but the narrative coming from Government indicates it is unlikely to match or increase last years pay offer.

I am an active Branch rep and I speak to members across the Department in my role on the GEC and I have consistently voted in line with the feedback I have received from the members who elect me to be a voice for them.

As we face a worrying rise in support for far-right organisations attempting to infect our politics with their rhetoric of hate and division, it is essential that the union movement is mobilised and ready to robustly challenge this. The genocide in Gaza has dominated our news feeds in the last 15 months and I am proud of the leading role PCS has played in condemning the actions of our government who have continued to supply the licenses for the weapons used to annihilate Palestinian men, women and children and in demanding a permanent ceasefire while supporting demonstrations for peace across the UK.

If elected as DWP GEC Assistant Secretary again, I will be a strong voice for our members in PCS and will work with Left Unity comrades to continue to:
• Support our campaign for increased staffing across DWP and access to hybrid working for ALL our members.
• Fight for a fair pay rise, pay restoration and the return of our stolen pension contributions.
• Oppose office closures and work with our reps and members to fight against job losses and removal of the vital services we provide in working class communities.
• Fight for safe workplaces and working conditions for our members.
• Robustly oppose outsourcing of work and fight to bring all outsourced work back in house.
• Prioritise equality at the heart of everything we do for members.

I am a proud socialist and I’m fully committed to Left Unity and their policies. It would be an honour to be elected to serve our members on the GEC for another year. Please consider voting for me and all the Left Unity candidates for YOUR Group Executive Committee