Reps deserve respect, not silence
I didn’t become a PCS union rep for the title. I took on the role because workers need a voice, a genuine one, in the rooms where decisions are made. Lately, I’ve stopped being surprised when management fails to listen. Too often the gloves have had to come off because of the lack of respect.
I now find myself reminding certain managers of the importance of respect, and of who else is in the room. What still stings most is the absence of basic courtesy.
Too often I’m not consulted: I’m informed. Not invited to discuss: but expected to endorse. And when I raise concerns on behalf of staff, I’m treated as an obstacle, a delay, an inconvenience.
Let’s be clear: union reps aren’t here to play politics. We’re here to ensure fairness, protect rights, and keep the workplace honest. That shouldn’t make us the enemy. Yet management culture in some quarters still treats us as a nuisance, or worse, as irrelevant.
The irony is that we advocate for the very Civil Service core values it claims to cherish: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. We speak for colleagues who don’t feel safe raising their voices. We step into difficult conversations so others don’t have to. And yet, we’re brushed aside.
Respect isn’t about agreeing with everything I say. It’s about engaging in good faith. It’s about recognising that when you dismiss the union rep, you’re not just ignoring a person, you’re sidelining the people they represent.
Management and unions will never agree on everything. That’s fine. But if the role of a PCS rep is reduced to a formality, or a tick-box exercise, then what’s left of workplace dialogue?
Talk to us. Include us. Respect us. Because we’re not going away, and neither are the workers behind us.
We’re not the problem. We’re part of the solution. If only you’d let us be.