It has been a busy time since my last update. The strike action in Northern Ireland has been suspended whilst negotiations to achieve our demands for safe staffing, recruitment and retention and pay parity for our colleagues in the province continue. In Guernsey, the ballot of members regarding strike action or action short of a strike has been opened and we will know the results during the week commencing 2 March. In the meantime, this demonstration that we are serious appears to have brought the employers back to the table with a more realistic approach and what we hope and expect to be meaningful talks are scheduled for later this month.
The ongoing independent, external governance review by the Centre for Public Scrutiny continues and we should all have received an email inviting us to take part by completing an online questionnaire. If you haven’t received yours, check on MyRCN that your contact details are up to date. There are upcoming membership consultations on the Annual General Meeting and the Membership Category Review, both important pieces of work which reflect the demand for increased member involvement, openness and transparency expressed at the Extraordinary General Meeting in 2018.
In the seven weeks since the new Council was stood up, we have met twice in Cavendish Square and had three teleconferences. In addition, I have attended the South East Regional Team meeting where I met many of the staff who support us and will be visiting the Croydon office to meet more. As a non-voting member of the South East Board, I attended the recent meeting where branch plans and budgets and Congress arrangements were discussed. Remember that the open portions of Council meetings are live streamed and you can watch them after the event on the website. Recordings of the Board meetings will also be uploaded to the South East web pages very soon.
A little known fact is that all members are welcome to attend ANY branch meeting or learning event staged by any other branch or region. Check out the Events page for more details and go along to or sign up for anything that catches your eye.
It is my intention to attend at least one branch meeting of every branch every year and as I’ve said, I have written to branch chairs requesting an invitation to attend - with the current expenses policy, I can’t just turn up. However, as a member, you can request that your branch invites me to meet members and answer questions. As ever, I welcome contact from members, email me on Jeremy.Benton@rcn.org.uk.
The ongoing independent, external governance review by the Centre for Public Scrutiny continues and we should all have received an email inviting us to take part by completing an online questionnaire. If you haven’t received yours, check on MyRCN that your contact details are up to date. There are upcoming membership consultations on the Annual General Meeting and the Membership Category Review, both important pieces of work which reflect the demand for increased member involvement, openness and transparency expressed at the Extraordinary General Meeting in 2018.
In the seven weeks since the new Council was stood up, we have met twice in Cavendish Square and had three teleconferences. In addition, I have attended the South East Regional Team meeting where I met many of the staff who support us and will be visiting the Croydon office to meet more. As a non-voting member of the South East Board, I attended the recent meeting where branch plans and budgets and Congress arrangements were discussed. Remember that the open portions of Council meetings are live streamed and you can watch them after the event on the website. Recordings of the Board meetings will also be uploaded to the South East web pages very soon.
A little known fact is that all members are welcome to attend ANY branch meeting or learning event staged by any other branch or region. Check out the Events page for more details and go along to or sign up for anything that catches your eye.
It is my intention to attend at least one branch meeting of every branch every year and as I’ve said, I have written to branch chairs requesting an invitation to attend - with the current expenses policy, I can’t just turn up. However, as a member, you can request that your branch invites me to meet members and answer questions. As ever, I welcome contact from members, email me on Jeremy.Benton@rcn.org.uk.
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