Royal College of Midwives becomes Scottish Trades Union Congress affiliate
The body which represents Scotland's midwives has become the first royal college to become part of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC).
The body which represents Scotland's midwives has become the first royal college to become part of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC).
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM), which has about 3,000 members, has been announced as the newest affiliate of the trade union umbrella organisation.
RCM Scotland director Gillian Smith hailed the move as wonderful news'' and added:This is a positive step and is important to us not only from a union perspective, but also for the RCM's professional work in Scotland.
It will bring many benefits to the RCM, but most importantly to our members in Scotland, such as access to an even wider range of educational, learning and training opportunities.''
The RCM is both a professional organisation and a trade union, with Ms Smith stating: Our fundamental purpose is to work for our members to ensure they can provide the highest quality of care for women.
The STUC's campaigning on issues such as women's issues and rights, employment rights, equality, wellbeing at work and in many other areas is fully compatible with this.''
STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: I am very pleased to be able to welcome the Royal College of Midwives to the STUC.
Trade unions have a vital role to play in the creation of good-quality and well-run public services, and the expertise and experience of RCM members will be a welcome addition to our work in this area.
The STUC works hard to represent union members across all industries in Scotland and are pleased that the vital and effective role that we play continues to be recognised by a growing number of workers in Scotland.
We look forward to working with the RCM in the future and are pleased to welcome them to our congress.''
The STUC announced the RCM as its latest affiliated organisation during its annual congress in Dundee. The RCM became affiliated to the Trades Union Congress in England in June 2015.