Corporations suspend people on ill-founded or mischievous allegations, claiming that it is a neutral act when it is nothing of the sort. Charities sack volunteers if they don’t conform to internal rules without a thought for any personal distress caused. To suspend someone means that the employer believes that there is substance in the allegation – the employee has a natural right to feel aggrieved in these situations – and if the allegation is unsubstantiated, it is the person who initiated the suspension that should be investigated for poor judgment, and a full, written apology must be forthcoming.
So let’s look at the RNLI which changed the locks of the lifeboat station in St Helier on Saturday, in what must be one of the most ill-conceived PR exercises in history. The fault lies in Poole, where gross mismanagement has led to an unnecessary escalation of a situation, and tension. It seems to be lost on Mr Boissier, the RNLI CEO who is paid more than £150,000 per year – in stark contrast to the local volunteers – that a replacement lifeboat crew shall have to be recruited from the Islanders they have grossly insulted.
Maybe it’s time for the Channel Islands to break away from the UK and have an independent, local presence affiliated to the RNLI.
RNLI walkout latest: Click here
