Local RCN branch ‘in danger of folding’
Tuesday 12th January 2010, 2:29PM GMT.
THE Guernsey branch of the Royal College of Nursing could close due to a lack of support from members, a representative has said.
Bev Clarke (pictured) said the local branch of the union was run by volunteers who all work within the health service. It currently has six and Mrs Clarke said the union needed more support from members.
Fewer than 10 people turned up for its planned annual general meeting in December and she urged members to show their support by attending the rescheduled meeting tomorrow night.
‘It might have to close through a lack of support,’ she said.
‘All representatives work in the service and volunteer to help the union.
‘Over the years we have had lots of representatives, but at the moment there are only half a dozen of us.
‘We are too stretched because we all have full-time jobs.’
The union has hundreds of members and Mrs Clarke said more must help if it is to avoid folding.
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The reason is they dont look after their members very well even attempting to sell a retired home for nurses bequeathed to them in the UK.
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I cannot comment on the RCN IN Guernsey as I live on the mainland. However I do know they are the union with the highest number of nurses and certainly do look after them in the UK. It would be such a shame if the branch has to close. The RCN Is pivotal in looking after nurses and providing them with educational ad employment support.
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I could give more examples of why people leave and join UNISON.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23422988-betrayal-of-retired-nurses-after-charity-decides-to-sell-their-homes.do
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I look forward to the RCN supporting me throughout my profession. You should search for The Student Bus on their website and see what you come up with. They support you all the way through.
I cannot find anything else about this and considering it is a 2007 article then I won’t be taking much notice of it.
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Also there really aren’t too many qualified nurses leave and move to UNISON because the do not offered the specialised resources the RCN do. Also I know some who do leave and become and member fo unison do shortly come back to the RCN.
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The fact that membership in the RCN is decreasing to such an extent that they cant maintain a local branch doesnt bear out your position.
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The membership is not decreasing (in fact it is increasing). It is the number of voluntary representatives i.e. those nurses who work on a voluntary and unpaid basis – in addition to their paid jobs, to support other nurses in all different aspects such as grievances, disciplinaries, bullying and harrassment cases, work-related problems etc. As staff are required to work longer hours, do overtime, take work home and work/life balances are decreased it isn’t surprising that there are not many nurses wanting to do this voluntary role as well.
Also unlike Prospect/Unison etc the RCN is much more than a union – it is also a professional organisation providing training, information and interaction with its professional members.
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Thankyou Florence for clarifying this point. I hope that the RCN does not fold in Gsy as it would not be a good show, especially as we are currently getting a good interest in the student section.
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