Celebrating success in the south west
Caroline has recently been nominated as the South West TUC's rep of the month. Here she explains why she became a rep and how she keeps organised.
I have been a PCS member for about 20 years and a rep for about 8.
If you had asked me ten years ago would I be doing what I'm doing now, I would have said no way.
I decided to become a rep when there were issues within my office. The organisation I work for was also going through a merger with another department and making changes to our contracts. I could see that staff were badly informed and were looking for help and as I had friends who were reps I was encouraged to take the plunge.
I’m a workplace rep and also branch organiser, branch treasurer and have a number of committee roles - but I also encourage other members to become activists and to attend training courses to learn the skills needed but also to meet other activists and exchange ideas.
It's important to know there is a structure in place when you need to ask questions. If you've got the confidence and the backup, you'll be a better rep.
My members are in different locations throughout the south west region so I use PCS Digital to keep in touch. I am happy to phone the offices and WhatsApp groups are also a great help to keep members up to date and encourage them to attend Zoom / Teams meetings and for explaining important information such as why it is vital to return ballot papers to achieve over the 50% turn out.
The TUC is a good source of information and a great way to keep up to date with what’s going on in your local region, events and training.
I was very proud to be named their south west rep of the month; it’s lovely that the hard work that goes on in workplaces and branches is acknowledged.