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Draft letter to RNID Trustees.
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Comments and recommendations for improvement welcome:
Dear
I am a deaf member of RNID and I am writing to express my unease at a number of ways in which the charity operates. My first concern is that of accountability at RNID. The standard response that I have been given by independent parties is that I should liaise with the board. After asking John Low on how to go about this, he advised me to contact board members individually by post via Featherstone Street. This seems rather cumbersome and I think, in the age of internet, there are better ways to expedite a feedback process. I see the role of trustee as rather like that of an MP – where the interests of constituents are carried forward through surgeries/consultation and that is what I think should happen at RNID. Simply giving out information unilaterally in the form of impact reports is inadequate.
My other main area of concern is that of the employment of deaf and hard of hearing people at RNID in general and especially at senior management level. A lot of the vacancies advertised by RNID seem to carry a stipulation of at least two years experience. Whilst normally this would be fine, it is disregarding the fact, which is often shown through RNID’s own research, that deaf and hard of hearing people are less likely through no fault of their own to have this experience. The lack of deaf and hoh people at SMT (senior management team) level seems to contradict many of RNID’s claims and aspirations; it is a dramatic vote of no confidence in deaf people if they are deemed unfit to hold a single vacancy at the highest level of a deaf organisation. How can RNID champion our suitability to work at all levels in other organisations if their own record is poor? How can it be in the best interests of deaf people not to speak and act for themselves and control their own affairs?
I would respectfully urge you to take on board these concerns.
Yours sincerely, -
Are you being told to write to / contact each individual trustee?
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Hi Tig,
I've never thought of that! I was planning to write individually to each one, one letter addressed to them all would save a forest!
Just concerned that it might not be shared amongst them.
Hmm, I'll have to find out
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If only USERS of RNID systems had a voice we could petition online, but the 'pay up as a member or get 17,999 others, or be ignored' clause prevents that happening, the potential thousands of users of RNID services (Including established systems), we could lean on such systems, so that we would use 'buyer' power, to by pass RNID services via user demand, until effective representation and inclusion is a norm. The User has the ultimate say, we can simply refuse to accept an RNID terp, OR service. Form an RNID active service user group, then lean on them. Demand inclusion or, we go elsewhere. Where the BSL user went wrong was trying to compete, then running off leaving the RNID unopposed.
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I hope you get a response, Tim.
But don't hold your breath. 
Surely "whatever" is written, raising cancerns, to RNID should be shared amongst the Chair and the trustees........
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I was also informed that the Trustees are only reachable by mail through the RNID offices. I suppose one could send 8-10 individually addressed envelopes inside one larger one.
I would caution against being too specific with any claims about what the RNID does unless you have specific evidence. For example the RNID appears to employ deaf people in about 10% of its positions. This is probably more than a commercial company of similar size and so they can accurately claim to be employing more deaf people than the norm. The point here is they are a charity not a business and so the comparison is not like for like.
You will find the RNID often falls back on the business model and I feel this is inappropriate. On the other hand they do have control over a large sum of money and they do have to account for it under Charity Commission rules. It is probably a waste of time digging in the accounts for possible problems because the finances will be well audited in accordance with the rules. If they do nothing else they will make sure this area is well administered or the CC will want to know why.
However where the CC cannot have an effect is on the policies decided by the SMT. Provided the activities are within the RNID's own Charter then the CC regulations will be satisfied. As far as I know the Charter is very widely drawn, referring to "prevention and cure" of all forms hearing loss if I remember rightly. So that pretty well sews up how they go about it.
What we can withpout any doubt at all accuse the RNID of is being poor communicators. In an age where organisations are falling over themselves to communicate with their clients, the RNID is not!
Deafness as we all know is a difficulty in communicating in a hearing world. It would appear to follow therefore that an organisation representing such people would need to be better than average at communicating with them. Not so the RNID.
They are in fact HARD to talk to. There are no individual email or office phone numbers available for their departmants. Although many details are available on the extensive Website, contact details are not. This is in fact contrary to the commercial model on which the RNID tends to base its services.
Everyone has to go through the same email address until the individual addresses become known. In any case the RNID appear from my own experience to be poor at answering emails even at a local volunteer level. I find it hard to get a response from them, and I am supposed to be a volunteer worker with them.
Then of course there is that fact that at a time when other orgs are openinjg up forums to talk to their members, the RNID has closed theirs. Brian Lamb in his BBC See Hear TV interview said that this was due to "inappropriate comments" but we were not told what these are. I posted some comments critical of the RNID myself. As a member I don't see why I should not.
When you bear in mind the amount of money the SMT cost to employ, somewhere close to £400,000 per annum plus expenses, I think the SMT should be open to criticism. They pay themselves high wages, we should be entitled to a high standard of communication with them for that money.
Doug Alker as we all know left the RNID after a deep and bitter dispute. In his book he repeated several times that "all management targets and goals were met". That could hardly be clearer. However David (now Sir David) Livermore, former Chair of the RINID said in 2000 :
It saddens me that Doug Alker chose to write what we feel is a very bitter and distorted account of the events surrounding his departure from RNID.
He presents his departure as a dispute over policy, namely the oral tradition versus British Sign Language (BSL). This was not the case. RNID has and will continue to represent all deaf and hard of hearing people, including profoundly deaf BSL users.
The events leading to his departure were based on performance and management issues. Doug Alker entered into a negotiated agreement with RNID which we stand by.
Howeever they have declined to go into detail. It has all been hushed up and Alker was in fact tied to a 2 year gagging order. These people claim to be acting on our behalf in running our "member led" organisation. How strange that they don't want to talk about it. How strange in fact that they don't want to talk about anything that reflects on their performance on our behalf.
It's our fault. The deaf world that is.
For too long we have sat back and allowed hearing people to run the deaf world. We put our trust in these people to do what is best for us and it has not worked out in some areas.
We must now sit up and take notice of what is going on and ask these highly paid experts to do a better job of supporting us.
However we must stick strictly to the facts. Don't provide them with material that they can easily refute. Look at the situation and try to outline positive ways in which the RNID could move forward. In my opinion a primary requirement is a Forum so that RNID members can discuss its business amongst themselves. I cannot understand why the RNID are so reluctant to have one.This is a reply to this message.
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The RNID used the flamer excuse as we know to close the forum and 'hardly used' ! We all read the excuse and how the RNID wanted to utilise the time/staff used on the forum to enhance BSL access, why am I still laughing at that ? especially as they stated this 10 years ago too. The RNID is a corporate business, the mistake is treating it like a deaf group.
Once they drop the campaigns there will be nothing at all you can do to effect any changes. We can only attempt to hold them to account while they perport to represent deaf people, as a business providing a service we then get backfooted. Their service such as it is is a UK leading one, it's access is dire, they can well say our service provision is the best in the UK, few could argue on paper on that.This is a reply to this message.
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Now you know WHY I won't join the RNId - in any case, why should I have to pay a fee to subscribe to a charity which is really under its cloak, a government service agency?
It's own internal policy making is riddled with discrimination, especially in its attitude towards employment of deaf people.
It's built around the medical model view of disabilty and deafness - thus placing us all in the disempowering 'sick role', to be dangled by the puppet masters, who decide and try to control us, because they THINK they know what's best for us!
This is an interesting view :
Berger,P. (1963), Invitation to sociology: A humanistic Perspective (Hamondsworth; Penguin), 140, 199
"A more adequate representation of social theory would be the puppet theatre, with the curtain rising on the little puppets jumping about on the ends of their invisible strings, cheerfully acting out the little parts to be assigned to them in the tragi-comedy to be enacated....We see the puppets dancing on their minature stage, moving up and down as the strings pull them around, following the prescribed course of their various little parts. We learn to understand the logic of this theatre and we find ourselves in its motions. We locate ourselves in society and thus recognise our own position as we hang from its subtle strings. For a moment we see ourselves as puppets indeed. But then we grasp as decisive difference between the puppet theatre and our own drama. Unlike the puppets, we have the possibility of stopping in our movements, looking up and percieving the machinery by which we have been moved. In this act lies the first step towards freedom".
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I fully sympathise with your view, ruthie, but what can we do? If we just allow RNID to do as they please that will probably suit them fine - they can get on with using deaf people unhindered! At least as a member I can try to exert pressure.
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Well, you would have to campaign (outside of RNId) to encourage over 16,000 deaf people to join the RNId, to ensure the voting power of the D/Deaf membership, who would elect D/deaf people to be trustees or the CEO!
Try to make sure the majority ain't about to pop their clogs too - you need people with staying power!
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This indeed brings me back to a message I have been trying to put out for some time. Deaf people are trained to walk away from problems. When we are at school and having a tough time with rude hearing kids we are taught to walk away, find someone else.
Throughout the deaf world you will find this response to many adult situations, after all our earliest training taught us that.
So the situation regarding the RNID is that many deaf people disagree with them and, not having a voice or any simple means of making feedback or objection, they walk away. You can see this in many deaf forums where people argue that the RNID are not worth bothering with. But they are not set in stone. Nothing is unchangeable.
NOW we have this wonderful communication medium, NOW we can get together and really discuss things on a National and indeed International basis.
Things have changed, the puppets CAN cut the strings, join the RNID and vote to make changes. Why has this not done before?
Because we didn't have the communication medium and that is the difference now. That is what has changed. Merely trotting out all that old Deaf dogma won't change anything but joining the RNID and using our membership power to change things is well feasible.This is a reply to this message.
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NO they haven't changed - D/deaf people are only given posts - that in effect are "tokenisms" - and D/deaf people still have NO real power within the organisation to make any changes or voice their concerns and address issues that are of importance and to be able to represent their own needs.
Empowerment is taken away from them by an outdated system or internal policy that often allows power - decision making and policy making to end up in the "wrong" hands!
Doug Alker's book "Really not interested in the deaf' reveals a lot - you have to read it to get the full story from his point of view.
The forum is another example of how the 'voice' of D/deaf people can be removed in an instant! Not such an old Deaf dogma, after all, is it Andy - nothing has changed, has it!?
Why doesn't the RNId ensure that there is equal and fair representation of D/deaf people across the board of trustees in the first place?
No wonder people choose to walk away!
I don't believe in fairy tales........never seen a happy ending as far as the RNId is concerned!This is a reply to this message.
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I try to be realistic Andy, I just cannot see where they are going to get enough members from the deaf or HI grass roots to join the RNID. While the BDA exists I suggest there is no chance at all of involving BSL users. Deaf people everywhere are apathetic to join any grouping, less then .2% bother. You don't just have to convince the BSL user to join the RNID but deaf people and others, to join groups, it's a depressing scenario. There is at present no way to identify the HI sector, the majority. BSL users have seen their kind in the CEO position at the RNID, and still dumped, albeit this didn't have to happen, it was the wrong person there, but all the BSL user had.
I'm bored witless with the really not interesting Mr Alker and Co, it's brought the access situation at the RNID to a full stop not just for the BSLuser, but everyone else too, and obviously as we read Ruthie and others, the record and rhetoric hasn't changed in years either, it's dated, it's secular, frankly its useless and boring too, just like the D/d thing is. The dedicated few who want deaf access seem centered on the BDA side, there being no real or identifiable other group in sight.
HI groups don't exist,or are tea-parties. There's no fire in any of them. WOW ! we've got the DDA now we don't have to campaign anymore, cripes ! this DDA has effectively killed OFF access because the real bottom line is the DDA is a text document with no teeth, and the heirachy that is supposed to represent deaf and HI interests are in a coma. Campaigning such as it is (And we haven't heard a dicky bird from the BSL user in 3 years), has ground to a halt, despite valid concerns BSL has NOT got the recognition the user thinks it has, AT ALL.
The old campaigners had simple issues to approach, there was no access, they went for it, now everyone gets defrayed with bumpf and rights clap-trap, quango 'disability' commissions staffed by a 51% able-bodied or non-deaf sector, or planted by HM government to ensure you get a bone now and then but nowt else. Anyone who thinks even a disabled 'consultant' has any effect is a sad person indeed, most are token, it's patronisation, or at best toothless.
You have to go to courts, to juries, to human rights legislation, to set any sort of 'precedent', that 'percedent' is our RIGHTS we are supposed to have been alloted by the DDA. There IS another way, we could BUY OUT the RNID, assuming of course you can get us all to part with the money, what's the RNID worth on paper ? I'd readily donate 50 quid now if you ask for it.
Suggest the RNID goes public ! deaf can then become stakeholders in their own support thus having total control over how it is used, and dispensed, as well as encouraging more active user involvement, money talks. I'm sure Andy and TIim could re-write the constituion of the RNID to ensure the hearing rule is over.....This is a reply to this message.
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i have repeately send many emails to RNID but they did not replied ... only staff replied but when I asked for a face to face meeting, they then stopped contact me
The reason I want face to face is because I need to communicate my views in British Sign Language.
I saw a thread that someone want to complain to the Trustee, how do you know that they will reply?
John.This is a reply to this message.
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Most trustees have an e-addy (Not that I would suggest we reveal them all but......)
If they have a computer you can attach a vid to one. (Might help if it's titled ! )This is a reply to this message.
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I regret to report that I have had a deeply disappointing reply to the letter above.
After several months without a reply, I mentioned the matter to a nice lady from membership services and was then surprised to get a reply from Vicky Hemming (head of HR) and John Low (CEO) as I had wrote to the board.
Anyway, the answer was extremely negative, the very best Dr Low has to offer is to simply pass on my letter/concerns to the trustees – no direct communication of any type, no forum, no feedback.
I am baffled by such a negative response, especially as my enthusiasm to participate as a member was in part aroused by Dr Low’s and Mr Lamb’s encouragement when they frequently talked of “closeness to the user”, raising standards of accountability and RNID being “member led.”
Very disappointing, but as RNID purports to represent me, I will pursue the matter further after Christmas.This is a reply to this message.
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You do raise important points in your letter - and it's good to see someone doing something about this age old problem. I agree, it is disappointing to get vertually no response like that, but hopefully the trustees will come back with more.
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I have a little to add to the picture.
I have been an RNID member for many years, there have been times when my membership has lapsed but I have been associated with them since the late 1960's.
Recently I decided to become more involved with the RNID and joined their online forum hoping to meet other like minded members. After all the idea of any collective organisation is meant to be so that people can group together and share common values.
Unfortunately that forum was not moderated properly and became the victim of various trolls and other underhand attacks. This is only to be expected, one would think because the Internet has a reputation for attracting such people. The RNID then closed that forum although I see that the equipment and tinnitus forums are still going.
My experience with the RNID are that they are poor communicators. They seem to spend all their time working at Government and Cabinet level and very little time on the members themselves.
I have found it very difficult to become involved with the RNID. After reading that they were beginning an expansion into the Devon and Cornwall I volunteered for my local branch. However I don't seem to be able to get on with them somehow, I haven't been asked to do anything. My emails have been largely unanswered.
The person I was supposed to be working with has left and I have found out the post will be vacant until next April.
It is also difficult to become involved in the RNID's political process. They claim to be a member-led organisation but this stops short with opinion polling of the members. There is little or no chance to talk to the various RNID officers at HQ. Emails frequently go unanswered. Any kind of criticism is ignored. Direct contact details are not given in the personal details on the extensive website for the various officials.
Elections have until recently been poorly advertised in 1 in 7. Nowadays they have a larger advert for the AGM and elections, but I notice that there is no report of the proceedings. We are not allowed to know what happened, what was said and who said it. What was decided on our behalf? We are not told.
Now we have this news that Tim cannot get and dialogue going with the RNID. What are these people paid for? They are well paid, but doing a poor job of communicating with people who... by definition ... have communication problems and need expert help.
So basically the RNID does not seem an accessible organisation at all. There is no forum where members can meet and discuss things. There is no contact with RNID top management. We appear not to be able to talk direct to the Trustees, the people we voted to represent us. There is no email, no blogging, no news bulletins, almost no proper use of the Internet other than an extensive website.
The magazine is almost entirely self-serving, telling us all about the latest awards that the RNID has won. A recent one is Best Stand at the Party Political Broadcasts. Great!
What about having a go at something that really matters in the DEAF world?
Something like "Best Communicator With Deaf People". And that's one they ought to win year in year out. As it is I don't think they even come close.
What can we do about it? The only solution open to us, that I can see is for RNID members to band together and collectively insist that we are given more opportunities to become involved with the RNID. We don't even have a place to do that in, apart from here.
So I am very unhappy that the RNID appears to keep us at arms length while claiming to represent us. I think it is a bit of a scam really and we should keep making a fuss.This is a reply to this message.
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Thanks, southpaw and cornishandy. I will indeed make a fuss in the New Year; in fact I will make it one of my New Year resolutions!
I suppose there are a few options I have left, such as writing to James Strachan again to ask if Dr Low’s response is the formal reply of the board. I could also approach my AM and the charity commission to enquire about, inter alia, the legality of this, as the latter say in their website that the public are entitled to be satisfied that money given to charity is properly spent.
Happy Christmas!This is a reply to this message.
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I think the majority of RNID members aren't interested in being included in decision-making there, most are using their services, and reading their glossy books, and look upon dissent (especially from the BSL sectors), as sour grapes, the image is still HI go to the RNID the deaf tothe BDA, why doesn't the RNID draw real attention to this misconception ? (If it's true).
I read the 'Media' sections over the Xmas period, it is almost impossible to tell they are a group dedicated to deaf and HI people, more a corporate business that just happens to have them as occasional members. Once they elect to drop the 'campaigns' and operate as sole service provision there will be nothing to regail against. They seem to be getting less and less interested in campaigns because it offers an avenue for us to take them on...
When I complained of the Forum's demise I got a lengthy tirade in techno-legal babble that was very intimidating, and of course the real complaint never got further, than their spin team. They ARE aware many deaf people aren't at all happy with them, so employ professional spin merchants to head them off, before profile is raised. All you can do, is hit 'em where it hurts, in the pocket, objecting to funding and such, every time you see them going for it.
I've tried this in Wales, you have to be very quick, the RNID breezes in and then out with considerable speed ! Photos are taken with the local dignitaries, local news sent a 'press release' then they disappear. You will then get, those who will say you are blocking help. Whatever you do, you will have to be prepared from opposition from all sides, crafty at the RNID aren't they !This is a reply to this message.
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