For R&C GEC

I am in my first year as a GEC member in HMRC and have been a rep in PCS and it’s predecessor unions since 1986. I decided to stand for the GEC for two main reasons – firstly I believe I have much to offer having been a national rep in the old Contributions Agency for its lifetime and a Branch rep since 1988. My second reason was and still is that the West Midlands has not had a GEC member for many years leaving just under 2000 PCS members without direct input into the national voice.

It has been quite a year and with so much facing us both as civil servants and, in society as a whole, we have had much to do and still a load more. In the past year I have been allocated roles in PT Ops, SRRT (Surge), OE as GEC member. I have continued to chair the West Mercia Branch and be Regional Hub Lead in the West Midlands. I believe my actions in the BTU sides and in local discussions with reps and management have made the lives of our members better than they were.

As well as the continuing attacks on pay we are seeing a resurfacing of personal targets with many of our members being unaware that these are simply not allowed. These are resulting in a rise in personal cases – Benchmarking in CSG is, in some areas, being used as an excuse to ramp up these targets. But CSG is not the main culprit with areas within Compliance Management pushing personalisation.

The Ballot in my opinion has made us raise our game but with the disappointing 2022 result and with many Branches struggling in the re-ballot we still have much to do. While technology has made it easier to virtually contact members, we are still not great at communicating. I strongly believe a visible presence has to be the way we go. We are, in our Branch, now getting reps to print off briefings and notes of meetings with management and get out there putting these on all desks and spending time doing this. We have the Facility Time available and this will also bring on our reps who are welcoming the idea of a ‘job’ to do as well as having the opportunity to have little group discussions as we go around.

I am an LU member and fully support the policies we stand for, in my other life I have been a Labour Councillor for over 20 years in Dudley, many of those years in opposition. I have experienced the impact of the immoral actions of the Tories nationally with devastating cuts to basic services gleefully enacted by local Tories. I welcome the broader alliance within PCS left having been attacked by the Reamsbottom louts. So my wish is that LU continues to lead our Union and, in my final year of service, ask that you support me in continuing as a GEC member in 2023.