Public and Commercial Services Union

All PCS members are allocated to a branch which is made up of PCS members who either work in the same locality or for the same employer, so members of your branch might not be all be just from your workplace.

Every PCS branch has a branch executive committee (BEC) elected annually by members of the branch.

Some smaller departments/agencies organise themselves into national branches. Every member within the national branch elects a committee to represent them with management both locally and nationally.

PCS branches are responsible for:

• recruitment and retention
• representing members individually and collectively with management
• setting up sub-committees as required
• arranging branch meetings within the rules
• health and safety
• electing branch delegate(s) for group and national conferences
• keeping accurate membership records
• branch funding
• training new and existing reps.

Some branches have a branch women's advisory committee (BWAC) or other subcommittees. To find out what these are in your branch please contact your local representatives.

Your local representative

Local workplace representatives (known as a 'local office Whitley' in some particularly large civil service departments) represent members in their workplaces by dealing directly with line and local management on issues.

These issues might be workplace campaigns of a collective nature that affect everybody or perhaps a group of people.

Alternatively, they may be issues that affect just one individual and you may, for example, want a union representative to come to a meeting with your manager.

You and the other members in your office elect these representatives annually to negotiate on your behalf.

Where an issue cannot be settled locally it is referred to the branch. In the Inland Revenue and some other PCS 'groups' problems that cannot be resolved locally are taken to the regional committee.

The branch executive committee

Every PCS branch has a branch executive committee (BEC) elected annually by members of the branch.

The BEC is made up of 'branch officers' that you elect.

Under PCS rules the branch has to elect a chair, secretary, organiser and treasurer.

Other BEC members represent their workplaces and help with these elected roles.

Most BECs take up local problems that cannot be resolved by your workplace rep. The BEC should meet throughout the year at least once every two months.

Meetings for all members are held throughout the year. There are also meetings of BEC members that are open to all members to attend in an observer capacity.

Results of BEC elections are announced at the annual general meeting (AGM) to which all members can attend and vote. This is normally held in February or March in the run-up to group conference and the PCS annual delegate conference.