SINCE becoming PCS general secretary in February, I have travelled the country speaking at PCS branch AGMs, Stop the War and Palestine solidarity rallies almost every day. 

As we mark International Women’s Day, I can say that one of the biggest honours so far was to address the Women Against Pit Closures 40th anniversary event last Saturday in Durham. As a proud feminist and trade unionist, I was humbled to pay tribute to one of the most inspiring working-class movements of our lifetimes. 

I wouldn’t be the first woman general secretary of PCS were it not for feminist working-class heroes of 40 years ago who, against insurmountable odds, stood up for their class. 

There is not a more consequential and seminal moment in British history than the miners’ strike and the role women played in the struggle. In 1984, the British working class saw the full force of the state and Establishment mobilised to ruthlessly crush them. Our mining communities suffered terminal damage by Thatcher and her cronies. But let us never forget the incredible women who spearheaded the resistance. 

For many women, the strike was a political awakening, no longer constrained by what some would perceive as traditional domestic roles. The right-wing media of the day were keen to portray striking miners as macho militants neglectful of the impact of their struggle on their families.  

Women Against Pit Closures transformed that narrative and smashed that stereotype.  

Class solidarity reigned in mining communities across the country, with women supporting picket lines, speaking at rallies, organising soup kitchens and ensuring that no families were left behind. 

Everything these women did during those 12 months proved they were political activists in their own right. For some, it was just the start. 

What started as a support network for striking miners became a national women’s movement that changed the face of the working-class and feminist movements forever and its effects are still felt today. 

As the first woman general secretary of PCS, I stand on the shoulders of the women of this movement, as did they, of the pioneering working-class heroes who went before them. 

From the matchgirls’ strike in 1888, to the Ford workers in Dagenham in 1968, to the Grunwick dispute, led by the brilliant Jayaben Desai in 1974, inch after inch along the path towards progress is marked by the footsteps of women. 

The work of those brilliant women during the miners’ strike drew on the intersectionality of the dispute. 

Other marginalised groups, not readily associated with the labour movement, joined the kaleidoscope of defiance against Thatcher, Ian MacGregor and the rest of the Establishment. There were lesbians, gays, Asians, black people, punks and more who came together, as the oppressed, rising up against the oppressor. It’s a lesson on working-class solidarity that rings just as true today as it did back then.

For me, the legacy of fearless working-class women lives on in the courage of PCS members, four decades later. 

PCS represents thousands of workers in the Civil Service — some are employed directly and disgracefully others are outsourced. 

Thousands of cleaners, caterers, porters and receptionists work across Whitehall. Their roles are essential, but not deemed essential enough to be employed on the same pay and terms and conditions as directly employed civil servants. 

This predominantly migrant female workforce decided enough was enough. They joined PCS, took strike action together and they won.  

Theirs too is a story of working-class women using their collective strength to stand up for what’s right, just as miners’ wives did 40 years ago.

Across the globe today, the challenge of a resurgent and emboldened far right, the humanitarian catastrophe that is the genocide in Gaza, and the impending doom of climate change make for a bleak outlook, but I’ve no doubt that once again it will be women at the forefront, tackling these challenges head on. 

For me, getting involved happened quite naturally. I started working at the DHSS, joined the union, then CPSA, went to my first union meeting and became a rep. 

Someone pointed at me and said: “She’s young and gobby, she’ll do it.” I talked to every worker, and gradually everyone joined because the union was active. Soon we had 100 per cent membership.

I’ve had strong female role models, who encouraged me, including my predecessor as PCS president Janice Godrich. As well as my sisters, I drew strength from two comrades who encouraged the next layer of activists. Both, quite literally, stepped aside to encourage a woman to replace them. Without John McInally and Mark Serwotka, I wouldn’t be the general secretary.

Forty years ago, a trade unionist was depicted as a white male industrial worker. Today, the most militant trade unionists are in the public sector, in roles where women make up the greater share of the workforce.  

In the Civil Service, education and health, it is women workers who are at the forefront of striking for better pay and conditions in recent years. And that’s a testament to every woman who has gone before. While the industrial landscape has transformed our economy, women workers have transformed our trade union movement… and I am incredibly proud to be part of that change.