As Christmas and the end of 2015 approach, I am sure many of you will be reflecting on the past year.

Some of you work in sectors and industries that have fared relatively well. But many of you will certainly be feeling poorer – either in relation to pay, pensions and/or your terms and conditions. The one consolation is that without Prospect, you would probably be even worse off.

Any pay awards achieved were likely better because of the actions of your Prospect representatives and full time officers. Any hit you may have felt to your pension is likely to have been lessened, and most members are still in sustainable pension schemes, thanks to Prospect’s negotiations.

Your conditions of employment are likely to be better because of Prospect’s interventions.

Of course, none of the achievements of 2015 would have been possible without your support and loyalty.

We all need to recognise that our continuing efforts to defend, and even improve, our working lives depend on us not only maintaining but also increasing our strong membership base.

Please think about how you can help make this happen. Does a non-member sit next to you? If so, please ask them to join us. Use the Member Recruit Member initiative to give yourself a reward or donate to a worthwhile charity every time you persuade somebody to join.

If we all help to build that strong membership base, we can look forward to a happy new year.

Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016

Alan Grey, Prospect president