I HAVE been an active part of the trade union movement and have been campaigning for a just society my entire life. My activism informs my politics.

As TSSA general secretary I would continue to champion the rights and interests of our members. Successive governments since 1980 have attacked trade union rights, right up to the latest Minimum Service Levels legislation.

At the TSSA annual conference this year, there was a call by some members to consider our affiliation to the Labour Party. This matter must be decided upon by the membership and I will support their wishes on this, and other issues, as a matter for the democracy in our union.

I started my working life at an engineering company working on the Jubilee Line Extension project, while I was at university. I then went on to secure very high-level management roles outside of the industry. When I secured my job at TSSA it felt like coming home.

I have pledged to take a reduced salary and use the excess to seed fund an industrial action hardship fund for our members so that they will never again be financially forced out of taking industrial action.

As general secretary, I would run our union as directed by our members. Democracy will be improved and there will be transparency between all of the working parts.

The findings of the [Kennedy and Conley] reports were very hard to read for everyone, despite the fact that many of us in the union were all too aware of the scale of the issues.

As general secretary I would remove the opportunity for power hoarding by implementing transparent and democratic processes for all members and staff. Everyone must be able to raise concerns about bad practices without fear of repercussions, and there must be proper scrutiny by the executive, with this (where possible) communicated to members. I will encourage cross-team working, and take a zero-tolerance line on any disrespect or abuse of members, reps or staff wherever it comes from.

Since the 1980s the expectation that people joined a union on day one of their jobs has gone, and the intergenerational link to trade unionism has been broken. In order to find the most effective way of reaching out to these younger activists, I will employ a Younger Members Officer to lead campaigns to recruit a new generation of members and build our activism, starting with a particular focus on the environmental significance of a fully electrified and sustainable railway.

Labour’s flagship transport policy position currently is for the renationalisation of the railway.

I will push to remove contracted elements within the railway, ensuring that it will be fully publicly provided and publicly accountable. Rolling stock should be owned as part of the nationalised railway, as should every other element.

I would also seek policy from the Labour Party to help move goods from the roads to rail. Congestion and pollution from large lorries on our motorways is environmentally unsound and we should see policy to encourage a return to rail freight.

Currently, it is often cheaper for people to fly within Britain than to take the train. This is partly because of the lack of taxation on aviation fuel and the profit motive of the private companies that hold franchises to run rail services. An environmentally progressive Labour government would introduce a tax on aviation fuel and ban domestic flights, using the money from aviation fuel to invest in the railways, ensuring it is fully electrified and reducing the costs of tickets.

As trade unionists, we know that unity is strength. As with collective bargaining sessions, we all achieve more of our aims if we co-ordinate activity.