Public and Commercial Services Union

The young members advisory committee (YMAC) have designed a role description for young members officers to help support young activists and offer some direction. If you would like any information or support please contact a YMAC member or the PCS Leeds office.

The branch young members officer (YMO) plays a key role in recruiting younger workers to the union and getting young members involved with union activity. This is an area of great importance to PCS, especially as the DWP workforce is becoming increasingly younger, particularly in call/contact centre types of work.

The main duties of YMO should be:

• Be a point of contact for all young members (YMs) in your workplace/branch;
• Recruit young workers to the union, and encourage existing young members to become active;
• Represent the views of the young members by providing feedback on PCS campaigns to your branch executive committee (BEC) or appropriate committee;
• Provide progress reports on young member activity to your BEC or to the appropriate committee;
• Create and maintain electronic distribution list of young members in your branch using information from membership records;
• Produce or contribute to young member specific circulars for your branch;
• Distribute literature or information that may of interest to young members, e.g. PCS involvement in environmental campaigns, fair-trade movement, or articles concerning the plight of young workers;
• Promote the range of opportunities and incentives available in the YM network, e.g. Workers Beer Company;
• Work with branch organisers to identify workplaces with large numbers of young members or potential members to target for recruitment;
• Arrange or contribute to organising young member events or meetings in your workplace/branch;
• Identify and campaign on issues that affect young members in your workplace/branch;
• Create working relationships with other YMOs within your region;
• Job shadow and receive mentoring from more experienced PCS representatives to add to personal development as an activist;
• Attend training courses or events for young members, as well as mainstream union representative training courses.

The regional YMO should also take on these tasks, but fulfil the additional co-ordinating responsibility of offering support to branch YMOs by arranging meetings or networks to share practices and communications.

The list is not exhaustive and should be treated with flexibility. The success of a branch YMO is also dependent on support available within a branch, so it is essential that secretaries, organisers and chairs provide practical help and advice to aid the progress of YMOs within the union.