GMB National Congress 2025 Brighton

Admin Hinkley
Jun 12
3 min read

“We didn’t wait for better times, we made them.In the rain. In the mud. In hi-vis and steel toes.” — Martina Vrajitoru, GMB Safety Rep of the Year 2024

HPC | Sizewell

the Soul of the Working Class

There’s a version of Britain the cameras don’t capture.

Not the one in press briefings and polished soundbites — but the one in the yard. In the cabins. On site before sunrise. The one that built this country and is still building it now.

At GMB’s National Congress 2025, that Britain stepped into the spotlight.

And it did so through four leaders who didn’t ask for change — they forced it through grit, vision, and action.

At Hinkley Point C, Brendan Stack took on a system that too often tolerates the bare minimum — and flipped the script.

As GMB Convener, he built a new benchmark for what a union-led mega-project looks like:

Safety: non-negotiable.
Worker voice: loud and respected.
Contractor compliance: expected at a gold standard

Brendan didn’t just represent the workforce — he engineered fairness into the foundations. He led with discipline, humility, and steel-spined commitment to every member’s right to dignity at work.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Brendan, Mat Williams – known affectionately on site as The Bear – reshaped what it means to fight for your members.

He didn’t just defend rights — he redefined them.

He won back hundreds of jobs through impossible disciplinaries and redundancy cases.
He elevated terms and conditions for thousands of workers.
He challenged contractor practices and rewired how industrial relations operate on large-scale builds.

At this year’s Congress, as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves took to the stage to confirm that Sizewell C is going ahead, it was Mat she embraced in a symbolic hug — a gesture that spoke volumes.

A steward who’s spent years battling at ground level was now face-to-face with one of the most powerful political figures in Britain — and it was clear: our reps are shaping national policy.

You don’t win Safety Rep of the Year by ticking boxes — you earn it by moving mountains.

Martina Vrajitoru took lived experience and turned it into transformation:

Secured properly fitted PPE for women on site
Fought for safe, clean, and accessible welfare facilities
Built a culture where women are not just present — but protected, promoted, and heard

She created WiNI (Women in Nuclear Industry) to amplify women's voices in construction — and it’s working.She’s not the exception — she’s the start of something bigger.

Behind every safe day on site is planning, pressure, and persistence — and that’s where Ray Melbourne shines.

As GMB’s lead on Health and Safety, Ray has enforced the systems and culture that make Hinkley one of the safest complex projects in the country.

He’s made sure safety reps have authority.
He’s ensured that corners aren’t just called out — they’re corrected.
He’s built a workforce that trusts the process, because they helped shape it.

Ray’s work reminds us: safety isn’t a regulation. It’s a principle.

Brendan. Mat. Martina. Ray.

Different journeys, one mission — to make sure workers aren’t just protected, but respected.

Together, they’ve:

Raised safety standards
Improved pay and conditions
Protected hundreds of jobs
Shifted a national culture
And made sure GMB is not just in the room — it’s at the table

We don’t need to wait for change anymore.

We’ve built it. Together.

But now it’s your turn:

📣 Be the steward who speaks truth to power🛠️ Be the rep who doesn’t let the rules bend against workers🔥 Be the leader who picks up the torch — and carries it forward

Because what Brendan, Mat, Martina and Ray built wasn’t just a moment.

It’s a movement.