Summary Agenda
- Opening of conference by the President
- Announcement by SOC of the names of tellers
- Report of the SOC
- Statement by the General Secretary
- Annual conference:
- Financial report and statements
- NEC's report to conference, with propositions and amendments
- Election of incoming Trustees, Appeals Committee and SOC
- Announcement of the election of incoming NEC
- Close of conference
The Standing Orders Committee (SOC) for the 2000 annual conferences comprises John Gray (chair), Lorraine Dance, Vernon King*, Wynn Lowes and Kate Walker
* nominated by the Black Members Subcommittee to fill the vacancy left after the 1999 conference
Standing Orders for the BECTU Annual Conference 2000
1 Constitution of the Standing Orders Committee
(a) The Standing Orders Committee (the "SOC") for the 2000 annual conferences shall comprise those members elected at the 1999 conference (or subsequently) in accordance with rule 42(a). The SOC shall elect from among its own members a chair of SOC.
(b) The members of the SOC shall hold office until the conclusion of the annual conferences.
(a) The SOC shall be responsible only to the annual conferences.
2 Functions of the SOC
(a) The SOC shall be responsible for the preparation and submission to conference of the agenda for the meeting and these standing orders for the regulation of the proceedings.
(b) The SOC may combine propositions or amendments of similar intention, and invite those submitting them to withdraw them in favour of a composite proposition or amendment.
(c) The SOC shall be responsible for inviting nominations and for the election of the Standing Orders Committee, Appeals Committee and Trustees to take office after the conclusion of conference in accordance with rules 42(a), 26(a) and 3(a) respectively.
3 Tellers
The SOC shall appoint tellers subject to the approval of conference.
4 Doorkeepers and/or stewards
The SOC shall appoint doorkeepers and/or stewards to examine the credentials of all delegates and authorised visitors to conference.
5 Agenda
Preparation of the agenda for conference shall be by the SOC, and that agenda shall be adhered to unless for a good and sufficient reason the SOC recommends otherwise during the course of conference.
6 Timetable
The sessions of conference shall be as follows:
0830-0930 Registration of delegates
0930-1245 First session
1245-1400 Lunch break
1400-1730 Second session
7 Order of business
Unless SOC recommend otherwise, the business of conference shall be dealt with as nearly as may be in the following order:
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8 Chair
In accordance with rule 35(c) the President of the union shall take the chair at conference and shall have a casting vote as provided by rule 40(a)(i).
9 General Secretary, Assistant General Secretaries and members of the NEC
In accordance with rule 40(a)(ii) the General Secretary, Assistant General Secretaries and members of the NEC shall be entitled to speak but not to vote at conference.
10 Paid officials
In accordance with rule 40(a)(iii) paid officials shall only be entitled to speak at conference at the discretion of the chair and shall not be entitled to vote.
11 Order of debate
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12 Emergency propositions and references back
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13 Quorum
In accordance with rule 39(g) he quorum for all meetings of conference shall be a majority of the total of delegates registered for attendance, or the presence of delegates entitled to attend representing three-fifths of the membership of the union, whichever is the less.
14 Voting
Voting at meetings of conference shall be by poll of delegates, normally by show of hands. Any proposal made by the NEC under rule 9(e) shall be decided by a two-thirds majority vote of the delegates present and voting, but all other questions before conference shall be decided by a simple majority vote of the delegates present and voting. However, at the request of at least ten delegates rising in their places immediately following the chair's announcement of the result of such a poll, a card vote shall be taken. In a card vote each branch represented at conference shall be entitled to register votes equal to the number of paid-up members of the branch as at 31 December immediately preceding the conference, such membership to be certified by the General Secretary. The result of a card vote shall determine the question.
15 Ballots
The SOC shall be responsible for ensuring that the nominations for elections to be conducted at annual conference (that is, for the incoming SOC, Appeals Committee and Trustees) accord with the rules. The chair of SOC shall act as returning officer in all ballots conducted at conference.
16 Documentation
No documentation shall be circulated within the conference hall that has not previously been approved by the SOC as germane to conference proceedings. Further, no documentation shall be circulated or displayed adjacent to the conference hall or within the conference venue without the permission of the SOC.
17 Disorder
Should any person persistently cause a disturbance and refuse to obey when called to order, he/she shall be named from the chair. If he/she persists in creating disorder he/she shall be expelled from the conference.
18 Mobile phones and pagers
Mobile phones and pagers may not be used to make or receive calls in the conference hall.
19 Recording of the proceedings
No unauthorised recording, mechanical or electronic, may be made of the proceedings of conference without the express permission of the SOC.
20 Suspension of standing orders
The chair may at his/her discretion accept a motion, which must be properly seconded and put to the vote, to suspend any one or more of these standing orders, with the exception of standing orders 12 and 14 and this standing order, provided such a motion is not at variance with the rules of BECTU, names the order or orders to be suspended, and gives a specific reason and where appropriate a specific period (not exceeding thirty minutes) for their suspension.