Proposed merger of RCN North Lincolnshire and RCN South Lincolnshire branches

This has been a point of discussion for several years but has become more relevant over the last six months due to the RCN North Lincolnshire branch being unable to hold a quorate Annual General Meeting or have an executive team in place for the branch.

These are both requirements for an active branch within the Royal College of Nursing.

FAQs

What will happen if the proposed merger doesn’t happen?

Every RCN member must be assigned to a branch and that branch has to be functional and adhere to the governance directed by RCN Council. If this merger did not proceed, there would need to be further investigation into where the members of the RCN North Lincolnshire branch could be reallocated to.

The geography of the region would dictate that the next branch to consider would be the RCN North Nottinghamshire branch.

However, the RCN North Nottinghamshire branch finds itself in a similar position to the RCN North Lincolnshire branch and is currently in consultation with the RCN Nottingham branch over a proposed merger.

This would suggest that a merger between the RCN North Nottinghamshire and RCN North Lincolnshire branches would merely bring together two struggling branches, as well as crossing over both employer and Integrated Care Board (ICB) footprints.

The other possibility would be to reassign members to neighbouring branches in the Yorkshire and Humber region. Again, this would not reflect the footprint members work within and would also reduce the East Midlands' regional impact as we would lose a considerable number of members.

What are the benefits of the merger?

A newly merged RCN Lincolnshire branch would be able to fully support members across all the main employers (both NHS and independent sector) and ICB within the same branch.

It would also mean that learning and development across the whole county could be included in branch meetings and plans, and a countywide approach could be developed around employer policies etc. It may also mean there is less emphasis on the major employers and enable all members to feel more engaged.

What are the disadvantages of merger?

We recognise that Lincolnshire is a large county and that a merged branch could create challenges in bringing people together face-to-face. However, the past two years have shown us that virtual meetings and events can work extremely well. If these were interspersed with occasional face-to-face events, particularly if we can perhaps include a learning event with say a branch meeting, we are confident we can meet this challenge.

The other possible concern would be increased responsibility for active branch members and executives. However, we would hope a newly relaunched branch will bring in new activists to help with that workload.

How will a branch function over such a distance?

 A hybrid approach with some virtual and some face-to-face events, with branch leads perhaps dispersed throughout employers. The regional staff team would certainly be keen to help with enabling this.

Face-to-face branch meetings at various locations within the county, utilising the main locations of Lincoln and Boston along with the central location of Sleaford, and incorporating events across the smaller conurbations.

We would need to ensure the technology is available to hold a hybrid meeting.

Feedback so far and our response

• My main concern would be that Lincolnshire is the second biggest county in the country
• Meetings and events need to be spread throughout the county, not just in one area
• Everything in Lincolnshire is Lincoln-centric and all the smaller towns and villages are forgotten if we are more than 30 minutes away. Lincolnshire is a huge geographical area

These are all vital points. There is an argument that even now some areas such as Skegness and the coast, Louth, Gainsborough, Spalding etc are less represented than the conurbations of Lincoln and Boston.

The Regional Office team is committed to supporting a new merged branch to ensure we are visible throughout the county. As with other trade unions who have already merged previous North/South branches, it will bring challenges but overall creates a more active and inclusive branch.

The use of IT for hybrid meetings will help with this and additional funding will be made available to help reach members across what we acknowledge is a huge area.

Will we still have local reps we can get in touch with?

Absolutely! Our local reps will remain in place and will hopefully be joined by others from employers and areas not currently covered by local reps, thus increasing the overall service to the branch and its members.

My concern is the fear of getting help when it is needed might take much longer time than necessary.

The vast majority of members obtain initial support via RCN Direct and the Regional Office team, who then direct members to either workplace Stewards or the Regional Officer team. A merged branch should not impact on this process and may well lead to additional workplace Stewards, Learning, and Health and Safety reps in place.

Less voting places? Less opportunities for members (i.e. branch seats)?

There would be no loss of voting places at events such as RCN Congress. In fact, it could increase attendance as a larger branch with the two combined memberships may create more voting places. At the very least, they would remain the same.