Kerry Baigent is the regional secretary of UNISON South West.
Kerry joined UNISON in 2014, initially working with the union’s health, local government and university branches in the Plymouth and Exeter areas. For the last five years, she has been managing UNISON’s Dorset and Somerset teams.
Prior to joining UNISON, Kerry worked as a firefighter for 21 years, and was also active in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
She was the first female firefighter at Cambridge fire station and became head of the FBU branch there in 1994.
When firefighters went on strike in 2002/3 and 2014, Kerry led the dispute across Cambridgeshire. She was also national secretary to the FBU women’s committee for 15 years and worked hard to advance the position of women throughout the fire service.