Gail Cartmail is Assistant General Secretary of Amicus, the UK’s fastest growing union.

As the leader for Amicus public services membership Gail is a member of the Public Services Forum, a partnership body between the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Government’s Cabinet Office and other major stakeholders. Gail played a lead negotiating role in the public sector pension reform talks. Gail is spearheading the union’s new campaign, ‘Valuing Public Services’, which among other things challenges the Government’s agenda of privatising public services and the wider introduction of contestability and market structures.

Gail represents Amicus on the TUC General Council and was among the government’s Department of Trade and Industry’s latest appointments to the Central Arbitration Council. Other commitments include the TUC’s Public Services Liaison Group and membership of the TUC Union Learn Board.

Gail was appointed to the Health Visitors Association in 1990, which transferred to the union MSF who in turn merged with the AEEU to form Amicus. Gail’s previous roles within the union include Head of the union’s 100,000 strong Health Sector and she played a central role in negotiating a national agreement that now applies to 1.2 million health workers in the UK. Before this, as National Officer for Equality and Diversity Gail led the union’s campaign for equal pay for women workers.

Previously as an advisor to Greenwich Council, Gail liaised on London’s riverside development between the local government, employers, inward investors and trade unions.

Gail’s prior employment background is in printing and publishing where she joined a trade union at an early age and represented her fellow workers and union at all levels of the industry.

As mother of Eleni and partner to Kostas Astrinakis, Gail values family life and keeps healthy by fitting in a daily swim.