CSP organisers work alongside regional senior negotiating officers to support member-led organising, action and campaigns going on in workplaces across the whole of the UK
What is organising?
The Trade Union Congress defines organising as:
- Building a union that draws its strength not just from the number of members that it has but also from the number of reps and activists
- Campaigning on the values and issues that members and potential members care about and involving them in campaign activity
- Reflecting the diversity of the workers the union supports and represents in the profile of its members, reps and activists.
Meet the CSP organising team
The organising team exists to help facilitate communication and coordinated action between members, stewards, safety reps, equality reps and CSP staff.
We work to ensure that all members have what they need to make their workplaces safe and enjoyable places to work.
Each team member looks after several regions and travels across these regions and meets with staff and reps to help understand local challenges and how we can come together to meet those challenges head-on through workplace action and celebrating best practice.
We are a small team of five within the ERUS (employee relations and union services) directorate of the CSP.
Alice Spilsbury (Wales, South West England and West Midlands)
I am a physiotherapist by background and have previously been a CSP steward. I am currently based in South Wales.
I am a firm believer that happy staff equals happy patients, so I am very passionate about improving the workplace experiences of CSP members by empowering them to start their activist journey.
I am keen to visit more local workplaces in my patches and chat with members. Get in contact via email if you'd like to discuss a visit!
- Contact Alice at spilsburya@csp.org.uk
- Read Alice's reflections on our work in 2024
Daisy Goodall (North East England, East of England and South East Coast)
I have worked for the CSP since 2021. Most recently, I was leading on our student engagement and university visits. I appreciated hearing from students about their diverse reasons for choosing to study Physiotherapy. I am proud to have played a role in relaunching our CSP student rep network. I’m really looking forward to building and empowering workplace teams.
My background is in local campaigning. I’ve seen how the power of collective action can transform services for local people. I was drawn to the CSP because I value the work of physiotherapists and support workers in enhancing quality of life.
I would like to meet with members to get a real understanding of the issues staff are facing. Please get in touch to arrange a visit at your workplace.
- Contact Daisy at goodalld@csp.org.uk
Davy Nichol (Northern Ireland, North West England, Isle of Man and Yorkshire)
I am relatively new to the CSP, taking up my post in November 2023. I joined the CSP following a career in the fire service. 20 years of this career was spent as a senior official of the Fire Brigades Union.
I admire and appreciate the work carried out by physiotherapists and support staff and I am proud to work for the CSP and to promote our values whilst assisting members and reps in my role as a trade union organiser.
I am based in Northern Ireland and am keen to engage members and reps across my regions both in person and online.
- Contact Davy at nichold@csp.org.uk
Jack Holroyde (London, South Central and East Midlands)
I am a physiotherapist by background (MSK/pain) and was a steward at a trust for several years before coming to work at the CSP in March 2024.
I am passionate about equity, diversity and belonging and have spent much of my career working with and advocating for people from minority groups, including more recently with internationally educated physios.
I cover London, the South and the East Midlands – if you’re in those areas and you’d to catch up or would like me to come to your workplace then do get in touch.
- Contact Jack at holroydej@csp.org.uk
Nina Strathie (Scotland)
I have worked for the CSP since 2016, and spent several years in a role which, in part, supported organising in Scotland.
Becoming a trade union organiser felt like the natural next step for me, since supporting in recruitment and campaigning, along with working with our members and reps, was the element of the role I found most rewarding.
Prior to joining the CSP I worked in events management – organising may seem quite a change of direction but the two roles share many key skills.
I feel my own personal values align with those of the CSP and am proud to work for an organisation which does so much good, not only for our members, but for patients and the wider public.
I am based in Edinburgh and happy to travel anywhere in Scotland to meet members and reps in their places of work.
- Contact Nina at strathien@csp.org.uk
Organising clinics
Every month, all members, stewards and managers are invited to join our organising clinics to learn about key workplace issues and how we can organise to overcome these challenges.
We meet virtually on the third Thursday of the month from 12pm-1pm (unless otherwise specified)
Our next clinic is on designing better reasonable adjustments and is a week early, on 12th December at 12pm.
There will be group work to help design adjustments, confrontation of some of the issues that members face when asking for adjustments, tips for our union reps who are working hard to secure fair adjustments for members at their places of work, along with advice on how to get active and become an ally, and information on how to access support from your local rep if you are experiencing difficulty in this area yourself.
Watch previous organising clinics on YouTube
- Student to workplace rep: securing the future of our union (November 2024)
- Organising Around On-Call (October 2024)
- Ready, Set, Physio! Getting Ahead as a New Band 5 (September 2024)
- Standing up for internationally educated physios (August 2024)
- Thinking of becoming a Rep? (August 2023)
- On-Call (December 2023)
- Using the NHS Staff Survey for Workplace Organising (November 2023)
- Facilities Time: What is it and why does it matter for your workplace? (March 2024)
- Mileage and expenses (April 2024)
- Flexible Working: Let's talk about Flex (May 2024)
- Loss of space (June 2023)
- Your right to a safe working environment (July 2024)
Future organising clinics
- 12 December 2024 – Reasonable adjustments
- 16 January 2025 – Preparing motions for the annual representative conference (ARC)
How trade unions operate within the NHS
Josh Meadows, regional steward and Rep of the Year 2022, answers these questions in a short film courtesy of Northamptonshire NHS Trust.
Arrangements vary slightly from trust to health board but this will give you a broad outline of the work done by our stewards and safety reps.
Top tips to get started with organising
- Contact your organiser or senior negotiating officer and let them know you want to help!
- Start training today with the eBites for stewards and safety reps in our virtual learning environment.
- Introduce yourself and stay in touch with members using the reps email facility.
- Set up a WhatsApp group for your stewards/safety reps.
- Print free, personalised posters and flyers with the CSP Print on Demand service.
- Get advice on how to recruit stewards and safety reps in our recruitment hub.
- Find out more in our resources for stewards.
- And don’t forget to tell us about your workplace wins, however small.
Become a workplace rep
Being more involved with the CSP can help you to develop professionally and personally, and we would encourage all members to consider becoming a CSP steward, safety rep or equality rep
Does your workplace need a CSP steward, safety rep or equality rep? Email the team to let us know.
In this short video CSP organiser Alice Spilsbury talks about the three rep roles – steward, safety rep and equality rep:
National campaigning
The CSP isn't just a trade union. As the professional body for physiotherapy, the CSP has a role in influencing the direction of the profession and tackling issues that affect all of physiotherapy.