Personal Independence Payment is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.

This year’s TUC Disabled Workers Conference opened with a report from the Chair of the TUC Disabled Workers Committee and a speech from Steve Gillan the General Secretary of the Prisoner Officers Association and the current TUC President. This was followed by the first debate of the Conference on a motion entitled ‘Protect the PIP Daily Living Component’

The motion was moved by Ann Sianab Weekes on behalf of the GMB Union. She is the GMB National Equality Strand Lead for Disabled Workers and here is what she said in her speech to move the motion:

I move Motion 1 on protecting the Personal Independence Payment Daily Living Component and opposing further restrictions to disabled people’s support.

I want to acknowledge that since this motion was drafted, the Government has completely withdrawn the proposed four point rule following significant pressure from disabled people, campaigners, charities and trade unions.

That matters.

Because it proves collective action works.

But let us also be absolutely clear:

• withdrawn does not mean the conversation is over,

• withdrawn does not mean disabled people suddenly feel secure,

• and withdrawn certainly does not mean we stop paying attention while the Timms Review continues.

It means we stay organised.

Because intersectional disabled people and those with long term health conditions, neurodivergence, and learning disabilities are tired of repeatedly being treated as a cost to reduce rather than people to support. Please take the term ‘disabled’ as all inclusive for the remainder of this motion.

Every few years we find ourselves back in the spotlight of another “welfare reform” conversation.

Apparently we are simultaneously:

• not working enough,

• working too much,

• too dependent,

• not independent enough,

• and somehow responsible for a sizeable share of the country’s economic pressures.

Honestly, it’s impressive.

Most of us are just trying to survive the week, but according to certain bits of political rhetoric, disabled people are apparently masterminding economic decline from a mobility scooter.

And this is the contradiction at the heart of all this.

The Government says it wants more disabled people in work.

Well yeah…duh!

So do we.

But then the very support systems that help us stay in work become harder to access.

PIP is under threat.

Access to Work is under attack.

And we are left spending more time battling systems than being supported by them.

You cannot tell disabled people to work while removing the support that makes work possible.

That is like demanding somebody climb the stairs while quietly removing the handrail.

And this is what people still do not understand about PIP.

PIP is not an unemployment benefit.

Many disabled people receiving PIP are already working.

PIP helps cover the additional costs of disability.

The taxi when public transport fails.

The physio appointment that keeps somebody mobile enough to remain employed.

The higher heating bills.

The specialist equipment.

The support worker.

The braces.

Shopping after a body has already spent the day negotiating pain, fatigue and survival simply to get through work.

Disabled people are not living in glamorous luxury off PIP.

If anybody genuinely believes PIP is funding a champagne lifestyle, I invite them to spend one week surviving on a disabled person’s budget and report back from their imaginary Mediterranean cruise.

And let us tell the truth here:

• Disabled workers are already performing at extraordinary levels simply to remain afloat.

• People are masking pain.

• Managing fatigue.

• Navigating inaccessible workplaces.

• Fighting for reasonable adjustments that should never have required a fight in the first place.

• Privately funding treatment because waiting lists are too long.

• Turning up to work while carrying levels of pressure and physical strain that many people would struggle to sustain for even a short period of time.

• Then every few years they are dragged back into reassessments to prove that lifelong conditions are, remarkably, still lifelong conditions.

Disabled people deserve dignity instead of suspicion...

...and that is why the Timms Review matters.

Disabled people and trade unions must be fully involved in shaping decisions that affect disabled people’s lives before decisions are made, not consulted afterwards once the headlines are written and the savings targets already agreed.

Because meaningful consultation is not:

“we have already decided, but feel free to email us your trauma by Friday.”

Meaningful consultation means listening before harm happens.

And Conference, this is where we must remain absolutely united.

“Nothing about us without us” was never meant to become a slogan printed on conference lanyards and PowerPoint slides.

It’s an instruction.

So this motion is right to call on the TUC to continue opposing harmful restrictions to disabled people’s support, resist future attempts to tighten PIP eligibility, support the Access to Work agenda and ensure disabled workers and trade unions are fully represented throughout welfare reform discussions moving forward.

Because disabled people do not need pity.

We need rights.

We need dignity.

We need independence.

And if the Government genuinely wants disabled people in work, perhaps their next revolutionary idea should be to stop making us fight harder for support than people fight on Love Island.

Below is a copy of the speech by Ash Wise who spoke in the debate on behalf of the PCS (Public and Commercial Services) trade union which I think sets out the issues very clearly and underlines the very important point that PIP is not an in work benefit

Conference, I speak on behalf of PCS Union to support Motion 1 and to speak against the Government’s proposed and ongoing changes to Personal Independence Payment.

Because what is being put forward here is not simply reform. It is a tightening of eligibility rules that risks removing vital support from disabled people who rely on it to live and work.

Conference, nearly one in four working age people in the UK is disabled, around 10 million people.

And many depend on PIP to meet the extra costs of daily living.

Proposals such as the four-point rule would require claimants to score at least four points in a single activity.

Analysis suggests hundreds of thousands of people could lose eligibility over time as a result.

Ash Wise from the PCS Union

Not because their needs have disappeared.

Not because their conditions have improved.

But because the rules have changed around them.

Conference, let us be absolutely clear what is at stake.

PIP is not an out of work benefit. It is a lifeline that helps people manage the real costs of disability.

It enables people to remain mobile.

To manage their health.

And to stay in employment.

When that support is reduced, independence is reduced.

And when independence is reduced, the ability to work is undermined.

Conference, this is where the Timms Review matters.

PCS represents thousands of civil servants working in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Our members are the people who deliver this system every single day.

• They assess claims.

• They apply the rules.

• They deal directly with the consequences when policy does not reflect reality.

• They know, from the front line, that disability cannot be reduced to rigid thresholds and tick box criteria.

• They see the pressure placed on claimants.

• And they see the pressure placed on staff expected to implement policies that do not work.

Conference, PCS has been clear.

Any review of PIP must NOT become a mechanism for cutting support.

It must be an opportunity to make the system fairer, more consistent, and more humane.

That means listening to disabled people.

But it also means listening to the civil servants who operate the system and understand its failures from the inside.

Conference, when financial support like PIP is weakened, the consequences do not exist in isolation.

They are felt across every part of a person’s life. And across the workplace too. Disabled workers are already more likely to face barriers to staying in employment.

There remains a significant employment gap of around 30 percentage points between disabled and non-disabled people.

Reducing financial support makes that gap harder to close, not easier.

Conference, we should be clear about the direction we need.

• We need a system that supports disabled people to live independently.

• A system that supports people to stay in work.

• And a system that reflects the reality of fluctuating conditions, not one that tries to eliminate them through arbitrary thresholds.

Conference, if we weaken support outside the workplace while workplace systems continue to fall short, we do not create opportunity. We create exclusion.

Conference, this is about fairness.

It is about dignity.

And it is about whether disabled people are supported to participate fully in society or pushed further to its margins.

Conference, we reject proposals that risk removing essential support.

We call for meaningful consultation with disabled people and unions.

And we call for a system that works for both those who rely on it and those who deliver it.

Conference, without PIP, and despite how difficult it was to secure, I would not be able to stand here today, stay in work, or serve as a trade union representative.

Rohan Steele, a member of the TUC Disabled Workers Committee and of the Community Union, spoke on behalf of the Committee in support of the motion. Like Ash he made it clear that PIP is not an in work benefit and it should never become that. Here is what Rohan said:

Conference, last year we sent a clear message about proposed changes to disability benefits. Those proposals, especially on Personal Independence Payment, risked reduced choice, reduced autonomy, and pushing disabled people out of work.

And we made a difference. Through collective action by unions and disabled people's organisations, the government was forced to rethink. Key proposals, including the 4-point rule, were dropped. Co-design has been promised.

But we cannot mistake that for the end of reform.

Changes to PIP do not only happen through big announcements.

They happen through criteria, assessments, and delivery. And the risk remains the same: support being quietly tightened in practice.

Let's be clear. Personal Independence Payment is not a luxury. It is a lifeline. It covers the extra costs of disability and, for many, makes work possible.

If access is narrowed, the consequences are real, on income, on independence, and the ability to stay in work.

Policy in this area is still moving. We must remain vigilant.

Rohan Steele from the Community Trade Union

And conference, we also need to be clear about what we mean by reform; because reform must mean improvement, not cuts.

It means fixing a broken assessment system so it reflects real life; fluctuation, fatigue, and the cumulative impact of disability, not a one-off snapshot.

It means better decision-making; with properly trained assessors, real weight given to medical evidence, and accountability where decisions go wrong.

It means reducing unnecessary reassessments; ending the constant cycle of stress for people whose conditions will not improve.

It means making the system accessible; simpler processes, more time, and communication that people can actually use.

It means getting decisions right first time; so people are not forced through long, exhausting appeals just to secure what they are entitled to.

And it means ensuring PIP is properly funded; that it reflects the true additional costs of disability, including the extra costs of working, like travel, energy and support.

Conference, it is about strengthening PIP, not reshaping it around work.

It also means joining the system up, so PIP works alongside schemes like Access to Work, and genuinely supports people to stay in work if they choose to.

And it means recognising the reality of disabled people's lives, - fluctuating conditions, mental health, neurodivergence, chronic pain, not forcing people into narrow boxes that do not reflect how they actually live and work.

Above all, it means changing the culture, moving away from suspicion and blame, and towards trust, dignity, and the social model of disability.

Conference, TUC policy is clear: we oppose cuts to PIP, including any changes that reduce support in practice.

We stand against attempts to dress up cuts as reform.

And we will continue to push for a system that is fair, accessible, properly resourced, and shaped with disabled people.

Because PIP is not a problem to be solved.

It is a lifeline that must be protected.

Tell us about your experiences with PIP and how it helps you in the comments box below this article

Helping Disabled People with PIP - Motion 1.pdf

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Motion 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 Disabled Workers Committee 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.