Cheryl set up and managed the GMB Grantham office which won the Midlands TUC Project of the Year for Learning in 2005. Cheryl also ran the Reaching Out to New Communities Project working with the Learning and Skills Council, the TUC and community partners (including the NHS and the police) which won a National Award for Social Inclusion and Grantham New Year’s Honours Award for Service to the Community.
Prior to working for the GMB, Cheryl worked at the then Knitwear and Footwear Workers union (KFAT), Raleigh Industries Ltd and at the Ministry of Defence in Nottingham.
Commenting on her appointment Cheryl Pidgeon said: “I am looking forward to playing a full part in achieving the TUC’s aims of raising the quality of working life, campaigning for greater equality in society and within unions, boosting union organisation, strengthening global solidarity and increasing worker’s prospects through lifelong learning.
“As a senior union official who has lived and worked in the Midlands for almost all my life, I believe I have an in-depth understanding of the economic, social and political challenges facing the region. It’s a fantastic region with fantastic people and cultures.
“I would love to see more women taking up vital leadership roles within the world of work – especially within the union and Labour movements – to reflect the ever increasing number of women who are now joining unions.”
Cheryl lives in Derby with her husband Philip who works for the Department for Work and Pensions. She has a son, three daughters and a four-year-old granddaughter.
Cheryl was a single parent for 15 years and said: “I have a wealth of experience as a mum juggling work and family life, and I fully understand the stresses and strains of a benefits system that can lead to social exclusion and poverty, and make life difficult for single parents and their families.”
