The RNLI has shut the St Helier lifeboat station after a breakdown in the relationship between the charity and crew.
It follows the sacking and subsequent reinstatement of the Jersey station's coxswain Andy Hibbs earlier this year after all the crew walked out.
In other words, the charity lost tried to bully one of the crew, then lost big time. RNLI crews are volunteers; treat them badly, and they'll walk.
It means there will not be an all weather lifeboat crew in Jersey until a replacement can be trained.
So much for safety. I guess putting in charge
a woman with no qualifications to do anything but shill for a charity doesn't work out so well.
Who'dathunkit?
The 26-strong crew had previously asked the charity if they could run an independent lifeboat service on their own.
Leesa Harwood, the RNLI's director of community lifesaving and fundraising, said once the crew had made it clear they wanted to go alone the charity could not maintain the station.
She said: "I no longer have confidence that the station can be run without constant challenges and without constant threat of crew resignation."
Just another charity that's got too big for its' boots...
Andy Hibbs, former St Helier lifeboat coxswain said the move by the RNLI left him disgusted.
He said: "Everything that has gone on with the RNLI over this last year has been a disgrace, their management, everything they've done, the way they've handled this whole scenario."
As the RSPCA, so goes the RNLI. My list of worthy charities diminishes steadily.
13 comments:
From your link:
"With a solid track record in major US and UK charities [...], I use my expertise to build high performance teams in large, not for profit organisations. I have proven experience in change leadership and turnaround strategies, mission and operational delivery and income generation."
The phrasing could have come straight from the mouth of a contestant on 'The Apprentice'.
When future historians document the decline and fall of our civilization, it is a virtual certainty that the inexorable rise of the self-important, non-productive jargon-spouting drone - 'change leadership and turnaround strategies' indeed! - will play a major part.
Thank you, Julia, for maintaining a link to my old blog. I won't be restarting it because Mrs. Underclass blames it for my heart attack, possibly not without reason. But thank you anyway; it is a reminder of happier times.
Mrs. Underclass and I have been Governors of the RNLI (which means 'top supporters') for decades. Neither of us is a mariner; I had a distant cousin who was once in the Merchant Navy, but that's how long ago it was. However we have always felt that it is a job which needs doing and that the RNLI, as a Real Charity which supports itself, was a cut above the tax-grubbing politrabochiy of the fake-charity industry, and furthermore that supporting it was one in the eye for the state which always, and often absurdly, tries to give credit for RNLI action to state uniforms (e.g. on one occasion a rescue was attributed to a single policeman, who was three miles inland at the time).
We have carried on supporting the RNLI despite on some occasions being short of money for basic needs.
We were horrified to hear of the St. Helier incident. Our information was that a member of the crew observed an emergency at sea personally, and called out the crew, but the new manager forbade the launch, as 'procedures' had not been carried out. It seems to be from this incident that the whole issue derives.
It appears to be the case that almost all such differences arise not from 'health and safety', which is always blamed, but on the greed of ambulance chasers, their clients, and the underwriters who try to avoid becoming their hosts; the only defence against such lawfare being 'a full health and safety risk assessment', which concept of course is subject to churnalism.
We wrote to the RNLI to ask what exactly was going on (we are entitled to ask, as we are entitled to inspect lifeboat stations without notice) and were answered by a Big Cheese who was extremely evasive and patronising. We corresponded with him for some time and asked a number of lawyers' best difficult questions, none of which he chose to answer. After it became clear that his own letters had been replaced with form letters drafted by the PR department we stopped trying to extract a confession.
It now seems that the parasitic managerial class has infested real charities as well as setting up thousands of profitable fake ones on its own authority. We expect the RNLI's next move to be reducing to a bare minimum the amount of actual rescuing they do, because that costs money and might get one sued, and instead concentrate on 'raising awareness', etc. ad naus. Unless of course they abandon their basic principles and take the Queen's shilling, which must now be on the cards.
Mrs. Underclass has for some time been a supporter of the local Air Ambulance; perhaps that is a better cause. As a former fixed-wing pilot I maintain of course that helicopters cannot really fly (they are merely so ugly and noisy that the Earth naturally repels them). However, rather than be aerodynamicist about this I think we'll just contact the bank.
Change leadership and turnaround strategies? what the hell does that even mean?
and as for operational delivery surely that relates to how many unfortunate souls get fished out of the drink? not something you can influence surely?
I have a background in the security industry and one thing that always boils my piss when it comes to bosses is that in this game success is measured by what doesn't happen,nobody gets hurt,nothing gets stolen or smashed or burnt down,only the right people get in,etc etc but things like that are hard to quantify and put on a spreadsheet so what always happens is the bosses come up with pointless and arbitrary quotas that have to be met,we have to seen to be doing our job but all it does is piss people off and lead to lots of fake reports.
What a smug looking cow. Oops, sorry. So many smug bovines around these days.
I wonder if she can even swim
@JuliaM
I maintain RNLI had no choice following the mutiny.
That said, Leesa Harwood looks like Anna Soubry, thus instant dislike.
I will continue to support RNLI as they choose to receive no Gov't/Taxpayers money; thus are not beholden to politicians' demands.
Indeed. You should see the estate of smart, shiny buildings and offices the RNLI inhabit down here in Poole.
Obviously the money is being well spent on the important things.
@John M
"Indeed. You should see the estate of smart, shiny buildings and offices the RNLI inhabit down here in Poole.
Obviously the money is being well spent on the important things."
Would you prefer them to work in cold dingy Nissen huts like Greenpeace & Oxfam [cough, cough]?
I'm sure that like all large businesses there is a lot of waste and HR & Legal departments insisting on non-jobs & virtue-signal jobs being created.
Regardless, RNLI still perform their key role - saving lives at sea. They don't demand Gov't money or lobby for laws to increase their income & influence.
Like PDSA, RNLI do their job and do it well.
"RNLI still perform their key role - saving lives at sea"
They're not doing that in Jersey right now are they? They've put a petty dog in the manger attitude (our boat and we're taking it away if you don't do what we say) over what is supposed to be their aim - saving people's lives at sea. Its a very typical reaction these days by one of these '3rd sector' organisations, and shows their true priorities - not their charitable aims, but their own self importance. They would prefer that Jersey had no lifeboat, than they lose part of their empire in some way. Thats the bottom line shown by this case.
I gave this some thought last night. RNLI needs to have an exit programme for local groups that want to leave which allows transfer of assets to stand-alone local group related to local costs and donations. Maybe an affiliate, franchise and branding programme too (eg BA & Logan Air).
I don't know the solution, but RNLI & locals need to resolve asap. A good start would be removing Soubry lookalike from all RNLI vs Jersey discussions.
"RNLI needs to have an exit programme for local groups that want to leave which allows transfer of assets to stand-alone local group related to local costs and donations. Maybe an affiliate, franchise and branding programme too (eg BA & Logan Air)."
Exactly!! A person dedicated to saving lives of people at sea would do what was necessary to ensure that continued, regardless of the personal loss of face/importance/power/prestige.
"The phrasing could have come straight from the mouth of a contestant on 'The Apprentice'."
Or straight from a 'Dilbert' cartoon...
"Thank you, Julia, for maintaining a link to my old blog."
Welcome back! It's always a concern when a blogger disappears. Sorry to hear about the heart attack. Hope you're now on the mend.
"...but the new manager forbade the launch, as 'procedures' had not been carried out."
That's utterly appalling!
"Change leadership and turnaround strategies? what the hell does that even mean? "
It means an extra ten thou on the salary, usually...
"I will continue to support RNLI as they choose to receive no Gov't/Taxpayers money; thus are not beholden to politicians' demands."
Which rather reminds me of the old rhyme about journalists - there no need to take money from the government if you're doing their progressive bidding for free...
"They're not doing that in Jersey right now are they? They've put a petty dog in the manger attitude (our boat and we're taking it away if you don't do what we say) over what is supposed to be their aim"
Quite!
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