Nurses say No to curbs on facility time

The non-TUC Royal College of Nursing has added its voice to that of other public sector unions arguing against curbing trade union facility time.

The government has said that plans to restrict facility time in the civil service may well be extended to other public sector bodies, including the NHS. However, the RCN, which represents nearly 420,000 nurses, says this would “harm partnership working between employers and their staff and unions”.

Josie Irwin, RCN head of employment relations, said that facility time saves employers money as a result of more productive, trained workforces, and safer workplaces.

“Lots of trade union representatives’ work is carried out by ‘goodwill’; picking a fight may lose this and present real problems for organisations and employers,” she said.