Green reps: getting started
PCS member Athene Dilke is currently a Defra branch green officer and committee member, and chairs the PCS Defra environmental action group. She gives a civil service perspective on being a green rep
First, you can get very involved very quickly. You don’t need to have special skills or be to be an expert. You learn by working on things – you just need an interest to get started. And then you can start putting forward motions – it’s a great way to influence policy and connect with others who are working on green issues in the union.
Ask yourself what green issues matter in your workplace. How did the recent heatwave and the lack of maximum working temperatures affect you in your office or at home, or travelling. It’s a green issue but it’s a bread-and-butter union issue cause it’s a health and safety issue. Employers must recognise that we are already living in a changed climate.
What does it mean to bring green issues into the bargaining agenda? You can chat with your branch’s team ahead of their bargaining meeting, or you go in yourself. We need to start strong and soon: you can anticipate pushback on green issues (like ‘this isn’t the role of unions’) but that’s all the more reason to keep pushing.
In the civil service, under-resourcing is a real issue, not least on environment issues where policy areas are being neglected. For example, teams of eight working on important green areas no longer exist, the work has stopped. Here it’s arguable that a department not taking action is a breach of environment law which could be a civil service code issue.
In wider society, most people think climate and biodiversity are really important. It’s just a small but vocal minority who are pushing denialism. As civil servants, we have bigger voice toward government than many other workers so it’s doubly important for us to represent green issues.
Finally, on activism in general, it’s true that people who step into roles are usually already doing a lot. To get started as a green rep, get together with activists to prioritise your caseload first: how many people do you need to cover it? You must avoid burnout and work out what you can do only once your caseload is managed. Then just ask: what two green issues matter here and now? You’re ready to get started.
Athene also mentioned the Office for Environmental Protection, a public body tasked with holding government to account on green issues. It is open to reps bringing them members’ concerns anonymously, as well as to whistleblowing.