SWU Governance - SWU Social Workers Union

The Social Workers Union (SWU) is an independent Trade Union which is managed by an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee consists of up to ten members comprising of at least one National representative from each nation (Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales), two National Representative from England (due to the membership density), and up to five UK Representatives who may include representatives from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. All representatives are SWU members and social workers.

Current Members of the Executive Committee

Members

David Callow – SWU Chair and England Representative

Chrissie Beatty – SWU Vice Chair and UK Representative

Gerard Madden – SWU Treasurer and Northern Ireland Representative

Tina Peterson – Scotland Representative

Allison Hulmes – Wales Representative

Ann Marie Hayes – England Representative

Rebecca Austin – UK Representative

James Birchall – UK Representative

Innocent Sibana – UK Representative

Nana Yabbey-Hagan – UK Representative

Edith Till – Student / NQSW Representative

The Social Workers Union Rules and Byelaws 2024

To view the Social Workers Union Rules and Byelaws as amended in September 2024 please click here.

SWU compliments, concerns, and complaints procedure

To view our compliments, concerns and complaints procedure please click here.

SWU Annual General Meeting

The SWU Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held in September every year and is a members only event. Each AGM includes confirming the minutes from the previous year, a report from the SWU General Secretary, Annual Reports and Accounts, Motions from SWU members, any SWU Rule Changes, and any other business.

The upcoming SWU AGM will be held online on the afternoon of Friday 26^th September 2025. Further information and a booking link will be made available closer to the time.

Click here to learn more about previous SWU AGMs.

Annual statements to members

As a trade union, SWU is required to publish certain information to conform to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

SWU publishes statements to members issued in connection with the union’s annual return as required by Section 32a of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

These statements can be accessed by SWU members using the password in the eBulletins sent to the union membership for accessing the 2022 and 2023 SWU Annual General Meeting documents.

SWU Annual General Meeting Exec Angi Naylor — SWU Annual General Meeting

SWU Exec James Birchall — SWU Annual General Meeting