The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced that it will hold an emergency general meeting in September, after an online petition among members achieved the required 1,000 signatures.
No date has been set for the meeting, but the College has said that it will be in ‘late September’ at an as yet unannounced venue, in order to give members time to plan attendance.
In addition, the RCN revealed that it has commissioned an ‘external review’ into the process around their understanding and communication of the pay deal in England.
The EGM has been forced by an online petition of RCN members on social media, which requested a meeting to discuss communication and members’ confidence in the process regarding the RCN’s dissemination of the details of the pay deal to members.
They also called for a vote of no confidence in the RCN leadership council, but the College has not commented on this aspect of the petition.
Chair of the RCN Council Maria Trewern said: ‘We will be letting you know the date and venue as soon as it is confirmed so that those of you who wish to attend can make your plans in good time.
‘The external review into the governance and process surrounding the RCN’s understanding and its communication of the 2018 NHS pay deal will be carried out by the Audit Compliance Team at Electoral Reform Services Limited.
‘The terms of reference will be finalised this week but the first phase of the work will be complete in time to inform the EGM in September.’
It follows an apology by chief executive Janet Davies last week after the College gave inaccurate information to members during the consultation on the pay deal in England.
The RCN informed members that they would receive the full 3% uplift in their July pay packets. Instead, members received a portion of the pay increase, with the remainder to follow on the date of their increment.
