DRAFT CONSTITUTION

 

1.  NAME

 

The Branch of the Communication Workers Union shall be known as the North Anglia Branch.

 

2.     OBJECTS

 

The objects of the Branch shall be to protect and promote the interests of its members and to assist in bringing to fruition the objects of the Union as expressed in the National Rules.

 

3.     MEMBERSHIP

 

The Branch shall initially be composed of all members employed in the telecommunications and postal industry who were formally members of the following Branches;

 

North-East Anglia Engineering

Norwich & Cambridge Clerical

 

and henceforward in areas agreed between the Branch and CWU Headquarters.

 

The Branch will treat all applications for membership in accordance with National Rules.

 

4.     CONTRIBUTIONS

 

Each member shall pay the regular contributions as determined by the Annual Conference of the Union and all levies as they become due.

 

5.     MANAGEMENT

 

Separate Constituency sections must be established where Branch membership includes more than one constituency as defined by National Rules.

 

Separate Business sections must be established where Branch membership includes members employed by different businesses with separate terms and conditions.

 

A retired members section, youth members section, and such sections as required by national rules or agreed by the Branch can also be established.

 

The affairs of the Branch shall be governed by General Meetings of which there shall be an AGM and a minimum of one other. In the intervals between General Meetings the Branch Officers and Branch Committee shall direct the affairs of the Branch.

 

6.     OFFICERS

 

a)     The Branch Officers shall be elected in accordance with the procedures set out in rule 9.

b)     The Branch Officers shall comprise;

 

*Chair

*Secretary

*Assistant Secretaries (as determined by Branch policy)

*Vice Chair

Financial Secretary

Equal Opportunities Officer

*Political Officer

Health & Safety Co-ordinator

Women’s Officer

Education & Learning Officer

BT Fleet Officer

Retired members Officer

Postal Officer

 

*The Constituency Secretaries will automatically have Assistant Secretary status, and the Constituency Chairs will have Vice Chair status. Further Assistant Secretary posts can be established as agreed by the Branch.

The posts of Chair and Secretary will be shared on a Constituency basis where possible.

All candidates for the role of Political Officer must pay the political levy and be a member of the Labour Party.

 

 

 

7.     BRANCH COMMITTEE

 

The Branch Committee shall consist of Branch Officers listed in rule 6 plus at least one representative from each of the Constituency section committees.

 

The Committee shall meet at least 4 times per year.

 

Responsibilities

 

(i)                To be responsible for the proper management of the Branch. To appoint such sub-committees as may be necessary from time to time.

(ii)              To review all sub-committee reports, to deal with all points of general policy.

(iii)            To ensure effective organisation and communication.

(iv)            To ensure the recruitment of new members and maintain high levels of Branch membership.

 

Decision making

 

(i)                The Committee must ensure that all members are able to participate in the democratic process.

(ii)              In respect of elections the details are contained in rule 9.

(iii)            For national elections conducted on a postal basis to member’s home addresses, the Committee may make recommendations that are published for the benefit of all members in advance of receipt of the ballot papers.

 

 

Constituency Section Committees

 

(i)                The Constituency Committees shall consist of Branch members nominated and elected by and from the respective Constituency.

(ii)              The Constituency Committees shall only have authority to deal with matters specific to their Constituency.

(iii)            The Officers of the Constituency Committee shall be Chair and Secretary elected by and from members of the appropriate Constituency.

(iv)            The Officers shall be responsible for ensuring that minutes are taken of all Constituency meetings. Minutes of all Constituency meetings shall be copied to the Branch Committee.  

 

 

8.  BRANCH GENERAL MEETINGS

 

a)     The Branch shall hold an Annual General Meeting by no later than February 28th of each year. The AGM shall deal with such business as is contained in the Branch Standing Orders – see appendix A

b)     Special General Meetings may be convened on the authority of the Branch Committee or by written request to the Branch Chair signed by at least 10 fully paid up members of the Branch. A request for a Special General Meeting shall state fully and clearly in the form of a motion the specific purpose for which the meeting is desired. The only business to be considered at a Special General Meeting shall be that for which it is convened and as stated in the notice convening the meeting.

c)      A Constituency Meeting shall be held at any time at the discretion of the Constituency Committee or at the written request of 10 members to deal with matters specific to the Constituency.

d)     All Branch General Meetings shall adopt suitable Standing Orders.

e)     The quorum for a Branch General Meeting shall be 10 members present, these must include 1 officer from each constituency plus a minimum of 2 members from each constituency.

f)       Not less than 14 days notice shall be given to members of any Branch Meeting.

g)     The terms of motions etc intended to be submitted to a meeting shall be in the hands of the Branch Secretary or a nominated deputy 7 days before the meeting.

h)     The Branch Secretary or nominated deputy shall publish the agenda and the terms of any motions at least 4 days before the meeting.

i)       Amendments to any published Motions must be handed to the Chair by the opening of the meeting.

j)       Provision shall be made for emergency motions, which shall be admitted to the agenda at the discretion of the Branch Chair.

 

9.     BRANCH ELECTION PROCEDURES

 

a)    Nomination

 

No member shall be elected to any office without first having been nominated in writing by 2 members of the Branch, one as proposer and the other as seconder and with the candidates written consent to the nomination.

 

Such written nomination papers shall be sent to the Branch Secretary or other designated Branch Officer, as determined by the Branch Committee which shall be shown on the notices inviting nominations. The notices shall clearly state the closing date by which they shall be received – this must allow 21 clear days in which to propose nominations.

 

All ballot information, including election addresses, shall be distributed to members via the Branch Office.

 

b)    Voting Procedures

 

Branch elections shall be decided by a postal vote of all eligible members.

 

c)     Election arrangements

 

All elections shall be arranged to ensure that members are given 21 days in which to return their ballot papers prior to the AGM or appropriate Special Branch Meeting.

 

d)    Positions becoming vacant between AGMs

 

Any vacancies that may arise amongst the officers between elections shall be filled under the procedures detailed above.

 

10. DUTIES OF BRANCH OFFICERS

 

Chair

 

(i)                The Chair shall preside and be responsible for the conduct of all Branch meetings and shall sign all minutes of Branch meetings and, through the Secretary, order Special Meetings when necessary.

(ii)              The Chair must ensure that the Branch has proper organised procedures to cater for Branch ballots.

 

Secretary

 

(i)                To keep a record containing necessary particulars of members.

(ii)              To conduct the general business of the Branch.

(iii)            To convene the meetings of the Branch Committee in consultation with the Branch Chair and to provide a report to each meeting.

(iv)            To prepare all documents ordered by a General Meeting of the members or by the Branch Committee and to forward, publish or present them in accordance with instructions by the same authorities.

(v)              To furnish the NEC and CWI Field Officers with such details, statistics or reports regarding the Branch or its members as may be required and to submit details of any amendments to Branch Rules and Standing Orders which have been carried at the Branch AGM to the National Organising Secretary.

(vi)            To ensure that those responsible within the Branch keep the members informed of any agreements, negotiations and decisions that affect them.

(vii)          To collect and keep readily available all information and data likely to be of service to the Branch.

(viii)        To forward to the General Secretary by such dates as are provided for by the NEC, any proposition which the Branch intends to lay before the Annual Conference, after such motion has received the approval of a duly constituted Branch meeting.

(ix)            To report briefly to General Meetings the proceedings of the Branch Committee.

(x)              To prepare and present to the membership an Annual Report of the work of the Branch, such report to be supplied to the membership 7 days before the AGM.

(xi)            To arrange the preparation, under the direction of the Branch Chair, any ballot papers required for Branch elections under Branch Rule 9 and ensure that these are provided to the election officer.

(xii)          To ensure that autonomous sections within the Branch are working effectively.

 

Assistant Secretaries

 

The Assistant Secretaries will directly assist the Branch Secretary in the duties outlined above.

 

Financial Secretary

 

(i)                To keep separate accounts for each fund of the Branch.

(ii)              To control the collection of subscriptions and levies.

(iii)            To receive all monies collected on behalf of the Branch.

(iv)            To remit to the General Treasurer any monies due to Union Headquarters by National Rule or by a decision of a Conference.

(v)              To deposit all funds in an appropriate Bank.

(vi)            To pay all proper claims on the Branch as they become due.

(vii)          To present an audited balance sheet at the Branch AGM for each account held by the Branch.

(viii)        To exhibit to the members a copy of the balance sheets and audited accounts not less than 7 days prior to the AGM.

(ix)            To retain all financial vouchers for at least 2 years from the date of the annual audit.

(x)              To keep all statements of accounts and balance sheets for a period of 7 years.

(xi)            To ensure that the Branch accounts are submitted to CWU Headquarters by the advertised date.

 

 

Political Officer

 

(i)                To ensure that the Branch is affiliated to all Constituency Labour Parties within its geographic boundaries and to liase with the Branch delegates to the CLP.

(ii)              To recruit as many CWU members as possible to the Labour Party.

(iii)            To liase and communicate with CWU Regional Political Committees, CLP Secretaries, Trade Union Liaison Officers and the Regional Labour Party office over election and CLP campaigns, local CWU campaigns and general political activity. Assist in the distribution of Labour Party literature to the membership.

(iv)            To provide an Annual Report to the AGM.

(v)              To co-ordinate any CWU political campaign throughout the Branch membership.

 

Equal Opportunities Officer

 

(i)                To ensure that the Branch promotes the Equal opportunities statements and policies agreed by the Union at Annual Conference and within the Branch.

(ii)              To establish a liaison with properly constituted local groups within the geographical area.

(iii)            To advise other Union Officers on any Equal opportunities issue arising in negotiations and representations.

(iv)            To prepare reports to the Branch covering Equal Opportunities work and on issues the Officer wishes to bring to the attention of the Branch.

(v)              To provide an Annual Report to the AGM.

 

Duties of the following officers need to be discussed and agreed; Vice Chair, Health & Safety Co-ordinator, Women’s Officer, Education & Learning Officer, BT Fleet Officer, Retired members Officer, Postal Officer.

 

11    FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

 

Trustees

 

(i)                There shall be 3 Trustees comprising the Branch Chair, Secretary and Financial Secretary.

         All Branch property including money, securities, equipment etc shall be      

         vested in the Trustees.

(ii)              The Trustees shall be empowered to sign cheques on behalf of the Branch, any 2 of 3 signatures being required on each cheque prior to issue.

(iii)            The Trustees will ensure that funds are available to cater for specific   Constituency requests and that such expenditure shall reflect as closely as possible the ratio of members in each constituency

 

Financial Year

 

(i)                The Branch financial year shall commence on 1st January and close on 31st December each year.

(ii)              The Branch accounts shall be subject to audit, which will be carried out by 2 elected lay auditors, who shall be responsible for auditing the Branch accounts and making a report to the AGM.

(iii)            All documentation pertaining to all Branch accounts including CWU HQ forms must be submitted to CWU HQ by the advertised date.

 

Procedures

 

(i)                The Branch shall hold 3 funds – General, Political, and Welfare Fund.

(ii)              All payments to individual members, officers and representatives must be made by cheque.

(iii)            Trustees must not, under any circumstances, sign blank cheques.

(iv)            Cash withdrawals must be kept to an absolute minimum and only in accordance with limits agreed by CWU HQ.

(v)              Proper arrangements must be made to ensure that all expenses are paid promptly including Death Benefit to nominees (as an exception the death grant may be paid in cash provided a receipt is obtained).

(vi)            The Political Fund will be administered in line with national rules and the Welfare Fund as outlined in appendix B.

 

12.  DELEGATION TO CONFERENCE

 

a)      All Conference delegations shall normally include the Branch Secretary.

 

b)      There shall be a minimum of 1 delegate from each Constituency. The appropriate Constituency shall determine selection of Conference delegates and nominations for the NEC. The delegation shall reflect as closely as possible the ratio of members in each Constituency.

 

c)      Branch observers/visitors may be elected.

 

d)     Delegates attending Conference will receive subsistence in accordance with the prevailing national rate.

 

 

13.    BRANCH OFFICIALS HONORARIA

 

Branch Officials and representatives who carry out union work outside of the Branch facilities allocation can be paid such honoraria as agreed by the Branch AGM (subject to a maximum 5% of the Branch annual rebate). A majority in all constituencies must agree this.

 

14.    AFFILIATIONS

 

a)     The Branch may affiliate to organisations that are in accordance with National Rules.

 

The Branch shall affiliate to all Constituency Labour Parties within the Branch area. In any case where there is doubt about which CLP’s are appropriate or any other issue of clarification must be sought from CWU HQ.

 

 

15.    DISPUTES AND INTERPRETATION OF RULES

 

a)     Should any point arise on which these Rules are vague or silent, such points shall be decided by the Chair and submitted to the next meeting.

 

 

16.  ALTERATION TO RULES

 

a)     No rule or standing order shall be amended without the consent of a majority, in each Constituency, of those present at the meeting.

b)     A Special Branch Meeting may be called on the instruction of the National Organising Secretary in order to deal with proposed amendments to the Branch Rules and Standing Orders.

c)      Any amendments carried shall not be implemented until submitted to and approved by the Organising Dept at CWU HQ.