PCS Rep wins regional TUC Rep of the Year award

The weekend of 21 and 22 March 2026 saw the second AGM of the now merged North East Yorkshire & Humber TUC. This was held at the Pitmen's Parliament, Redhills Miners' Hall in Durham.

A highlight of the weekend for PCS was the presentation of the annual awards, where PCS rep Fern Skeldon, from Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Newcastle upon Tyne, was named NEY&H TUC Rep of the Year.

Fern has been a rep for over twenty years. She is well respected for her commitment to members, her personal case work and as a skilled negotiator. She is branch secretary of the PCS Defra northern branch and vice president of our EFRA group.

In a brilliant acceptance speech, she detailed how she had first become active, after seeking representation herself and witnessing the value of the work that trade union reps do and the difference that being a union rep can make to the lives of ordinary members. Since becoming a rep over two decades ago, Fern has helped countless members with numerous and various issues and has led her branch and Group with passion, always putting the interests of members first. 

Her award was well deserved, and PCS congratulates Fern on this wholly merited recognition by the wider trade union movement, of her tireless work on our members' behalf.