Draft:Carmel Gates

Carmel Gates is a Northern Irish trade unionist and socialist campaigner from County Tyrone. She is general secretary of the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA).

Career
Gates was elected as NIPSA general secretary in June 2021 from a field of four candidates. Prior to her election, she had served as deputy general secretary and was a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Service in the then Department for Employment and Learning. She is a member of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Gates led NIPSA through a prolonged period of industrial strike action in 2023. She appeared on national and local news outlets during the strike action, calling for better pay for public servants and better funding for public services.

Gates is a regular contributor to local political programming on the BBC Northern Ireland show The View and UTV programme The View from Stormont. She is also a regular on local radio on The Stephen Nolan Show on BBC Northern Ireland and on Talkback where she has advocated for abolishing the House of Lords and nationalising energy companies.