Trainee Delegate 2023 Experience

I attended 2023 conference as a trainee delegate for both DWP group conference and the annual delegate conference.

As trainees, we were given valuable insight into the procedural running of conference, as well as having sessions on motion writing, public speaking and a Q&A with Mark Serwotka, who was general secretary at the time.

Experiencing conference this way meant that I was better able to follow the flow of debates on the conference floor and understand how this crucial part of our union democracy operates. The quality of debate was generally brilliant, with passionate speakers arguing their cases well. It was fantastic, as well, to see reps from my own branch make great contributions.

It was also a fantastic opportunity to meet with other reps from across the country who were also attending conference for the first time. We were able to share experiences from our different areas of the country and different employers and to learn how reps addressed these problems.

On the back of attending conference as a trainee delegate, I’ve felt incredibly enthused about the future of PCS and felt encouraged to become even more active as a rep in my own branch. I’m looking forward to attending conference again this year as a full delegate and hope to be able to make my own contributions in debates this year.