PSMA news
Office bearer changes forced on PSMA, writes PSMA Vice President, Alistair Maxwell
The PSMA needs a new president a couple of months after elections.
In March 2024, branches elected Jas McGuinness of Maximus CHDA as president and me from Atos and Harold Goods from SSCL as vice presidents.
A couple of months ago Harold was taken unwell and while he is much better, he still needs to get back to full fitness.
Last month, more crucially, Jas advised that he was resigning and leaving Maximus for another job. Jas will be a big loss not only to the PSMA but also to the NEC where he had been elected to one of the Commercial Sector reserved seats. I would like to pass on my best wishes to Jas for the future on behalf of the PSMA and hopefully he will settle into his new job (and new trade union I am sure) quickly.
The time is ripe to reinvigorate the committee with new blood
Meanwhile we need someone to step up to be an office bearer and to agree who should step into Jas’s shoes. I have done so temporarily so it will be the first item on any PSMA meeting agenda to decide on the new office bearers.
Meanwhile I will continue to do the treasurer role in conjunction with the acting president duties. I have been working closely with our industrial officer in keeping the PSMA ticking over and with the arrangements for the summer forum, which is now a training session for PSMA reps.
Clearly there are opportunities to fill existing vacancies on the committee and we need to go to our structures and engage with reps to see who can be brought in to strengthen the PSMA. The time is ripe to reinvigorate the committee with new blood. Please get people to come forward, no need to be shy!