WGGB delegates Katharine Way (above left) and Katherine McDermott (above right) represented their union at TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference last week, which took place in Bournemouth from 19-20 May. Katharine Way seconded a GMB motion on Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which was carried. You can read the text of the motion below.
Katherine McDermott spoke at a fringe event on day one of the conference on How to Tackle the Far Right.
1 Protect the PIP Daily Living Component
Conference notes that the Government intends to introduce tighter eligibility rules for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from November 2026, requiring claimants to score at least four points in one daily living activity to receive the daily living component. Independent analysis shows that hundreds of thousands of disabled people will lose eligibility under these changes, forcing many into hardship and undermining their ability to live and work independently.
GMB’s disabled members have made clear the real world impact of these proposals. One member told us: “Without PIP I couldn’t replace my back and ankle brace needed for staying mobile, or afford food for work or electricity to wash my uniform, or the private physio I pay for to keep me moving. I would just grind to a halt and become housebound.” These experiences demonstrate that PIP is essential to sustaining employment.
Conference agrees that these reforms amount to a profound attack on disabled people’s rights and incomes.
Conference calls on the DWC to demand the Government abandon the four point rule and any cuts to disabled people’s financial, social and health support, and ensure all future PIP reforms involve full, transparent and meaningful consultation with disabled people and their unions.
GMB