Resolution: RCN democracy
Submitted by the RCN Lothian and Borders Branch
14 May 2023, 09:00 - 18 May, 17:00
This resolution passed.
The RCN’s Royal Charter and Standing Orders comprise the main governance framework and these are underpinned by various regulations and policies.
The RCN has three membership categories; Nurse membership for registered nurses, Nursing Support Worker membership for HCAs, APs, NAs, and TNAs, and Student Nurse membership for student nurses, student midwives or nursing degree apprentices.
The Standing Orders set out the composition of RCN Council. Who can stand and vote for which seat is largely determined by membership category. Those in Nurse membership can stand for and vote for their respective country/regional seats. Those in Nursing Support Worker membership can stand and vote for the Nursing Support Worker seat and Nursing Students can stand for the Student seat.
Other roles, such as RCN President and Deputy President and the Chair of Congress, must be held by someone in the Nurse category of membership though any category of member can vote for them.
This structure is mirrored in the Trade Union and Professional Nursing Committees but not in the country/regional boards. Instead, the country/regional boards use constraints applied at the voting stage to determine how seats are allocated, although, in practice, Boards have used geographical constraints (if any) rather than ones based on membership category, meaning that any full paid-up member in a full (rather than discounted) payment plan can be elected to the Board, whatever their membership category.
The UK Reps Committees (Learning Reps, Stewards, and Safety Reps) are comprised of accredited Reps who might be Nurse or Nursing Support Worker members. Students and nursing support workers have their own representative committees.
Members in any membership category, paying full or discounted payment plans, may join branch and forum committees.
In 2020 an RCN Council task and finish group on membership categories consulted with members asking whether all members should be able to stand and vote for the members in their country/region on RCN Council, their local Board and the Professional Nursing and Trade Union Committees. The survey also asked if the President and Deputy President should continue to be required to be a registered nurse.
On the first question, 41% said yes or were in broad agreement with the remainder saying no/unsure (44%) or did not answer (15%).
A majority (58%) was in favour of the President/Deputy President continuing to be a registered nurse. About 130 members were involved in responding either directly as individuals or collectively as part of a committee/member group.
In this debate Congress is asked whether the RCN should retain the status quo or consider making changes, and, if so, what should they be?
Reading list for this debate available at rcn.libguides.com/congress2023.
Further reading
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Page last updated - 16/10/2023
