NEC Report to BECTU 2004 Conference paragraphs 1-36

The National Executive Committee

1. The National Executive Committee (NEC) has, since its election declared on 19 May 2002, met on the following dates: in 2002, on 26 May, 7 July, 1 September, 13 October, 10 November, 15 December; in 2003, on 26 January, 9 March, 13 April, 16 May, 1 June, 6 July, 17 August, 21 September, 9 November, 14 December; in 2004, 25 January, 21 February (special meeting), 7 March, 18 April, 7 May.

2. The first directly elected President of BECTU under rules agreed at the 2001 annual conference is Tony Lennon, whose contested election with effect from 26 May 2002 was declared at the close of the 2002 conference.

3. The divisional members of the National Executive Committee elected with effect from 26 May 2002 were: Jack Amos, Nick Ardizzone, Christine Bond, Tudor Gates, Pete Harding, Alastair Hendrie, Tony Lennon, Andy Love, Turlough MacDaid, Peter Martin, Douglas McGill, Gino Najera, Tim Potter, Robert Scott, Tony Scott, Lawrence Van Reiss. Because of insufficient nominations there was a vacant place for a member from the Independent Broadcasting division.

4. In the by-election to the vacant Independent Broadcasting seat on the NEC, David Reynolds was elected unopposed and attended his first meeting on 1 September 2002.

5. Gino Najera resigned from the National Executive Committee in July 2003 and following an uncontested by-election was replaced by John Searle and John Wild, who jointly filled the position on a job share basis. John Searle attended his first meeting on 21 September and John Wild attended his first meeting on 9 November 2003.

6. David Reynolds resigned from the National Executive Committee in August 2003 and was replaced in an uncontested by-election by John Handley who attended his first meeting on 21 September.

7. Peter Martin resigned from the National Executive Committee in August 2003 and following a contested by-election the vacancy was filled by Suresh Chawla who attended his first meeting on 9 November 2003.

8. The National Executive Committee at its meeting on 26 May 2002 elected Tudor Gates as Vice President and Turlough MacDaid as Treasurer. Tony Lennon, Tudor Gates and Turlough MacDaid were accordingly the General Officers of the union under rule 35, until Tudor Gates resigned from the National Executive Committee on 7 March 2004. As the first runner-up in the NEC election in 2002, Peter Cox was invited to replace Tudor Gates as a representative of the London Production division for the remainder of the 2002-2004 term of office, but declined. At the time of writing the next runner-up was being approached.

Proposition 1/04 (AP1) General Officers

That this annual conference expresses its wish for the elections of all General Officers to be by a ballot of all members of the union and not just by the NEC, the details of any such ballot to be determined by the NEC for incorporation in the rule book at the appropriate rules revision/annual conference.

9. Branch Circular 666, dated 14 January 2004, invited branches to submit nominations for election of President and divisional NEC representatives for the 2004-2006 term of office. Where ballots were required, these closed on 30 April 2004. Under rule 40(d) the result of those elections will be announced at the close of the 2004 annual conference.

10. The issue of the National Executive Committee's collective responsibility arose in quite a serious manner during the course of the last year. There are still those who refuse to accept that the National Executive Committee has a collective responsibility for the decisions that it takes and use the absence of a rule on this matter to flout the policies of the union on the collective responsibility as agreed by the founding conference and any number of conferences since then. The National Executive Committee is therefore proposing the following amendment to the rule book.

Proposition 2/04 (SRS2) Rule Book Appendix C

That this annual conference, in a special rules session, approves the following alteration to rule under rule 45(b):

In Appendix C insert new standing order 27 as follows: "27 All members of the NEC are bound by collective responsibility for decisions taken by the NEC."

Re-number existing by-law 27 as by-law 28.

Consequentially, in by-law 25 delete "standing orders 1-11 and 13" and insert "standing orders 1-11, 13, and 26-28"

At end of proposed new standing order 27, delete full stop and insert "except in matters of personal conscience."

Interpretation of rule: NEC job-sharing

11. The NEC job share mentioned at paragraph 5 above is the National Executive Committee's first experience of a job share under new rules agreed in 2002. It found it was necessary to make a ruling under rule 33(l) on a matter upon which the rules are silent.

12. Rule 33(e) sets out the conditions under which a National Executive Committee position may be occupied by a job share, and reads as follows:

Each candidate for election to the National Executive Committee must be a paid-up member of the union and shall give his/her consent in writing. Nothing in these rules shall prevent two paid-up members of the same division being nominated as 'job-sharing' candidates to a position on the National Executive Committee. Only one job-sharing member may attend each meeting and in the event of one resigning the other must also do so, creating a vacancy to which rule 33(g) will apply. Candidates may stand for election for a division of which they are a member. Should a member, for any cause whatsoever, transfer to another division, that member must resign from the National Executive Committee and the vacancy be filled in accordance with rule 33(g).

13. The National Executive Committee at its meeting on 17 August 2003 was asked to decide whether both parties to the job share should sit on the platform at annual conference. After due consideration the National Executive Committee ruled that both parties to the job share should sit on the platform at annual conference but that if there were to be an National Executive Committee meeting during the course of annual conference, only one of the parties to the job share could attend that meeting.

Interpretation of rule: legal assistance

14. The National Executive Committee at its meeting on 7 March 2004 received advice from Thompsons solicitors warning that insurers are seeking to challenge unions' legal assistance provisions by alleging that there is no rule book basis for the arrangements with members regarding insurance. The advice was received too late to be presented by the NEC to this conference as a rule change under rule 45(b). However, the NEC is able use its powers under rule 33(l) to interpret the rules for the avoidance of doubt. It declares as follows.

15. Legal representation under rule 21(a) in cases of personal injury is subject to any general conditions agreed with the solicitors instructed (and specific additional conditions may be attached in individual cases) and is on the basis that the member is liable for legal costs (which also includes legal disbursements, the premium for any policy of legal expenses insurance and opponents' costs) but is protected against having to pay those costs by such means provided or approved by the General Secretary on behalf of the union as he/she may determine: such means may be varied or amended by the General Secretary during the course of the case. The free advice service outlined in rule 21(b) is additional to the comprehensive representation of members in work-related injury and disease cases referred to in rule 21(a), which includes initial advice in such matters.

16. An amendment to the rules will be proposed to next year's conference.

Interpretation of rule: death benefit

17. The National Executive Committee at its meeting on 1 June 2003 considered an application for a payment from the Death Benefit fund under rule 22. Although it agreed to make a payment it was concerned that the individual had died six years before the claim had been submitted. The National Executive Committee therefore made a ruling that in future there would be no payment from the Death Benefit fund where the claim was more than two years old.

Interpretation of rule: Standing Orders Committee

18. The Standing Orders Committee of conference, at its meeting on 29 January 2004, asked the National Executive Committee to obtain a legal interpretation on the respective powers of the National Executive Committee and the Standing Orders Committee regarding the agenda of conference.

19. National Executive Committee at its meeting on 21 February 2004 declined the request from the Standing Orders Committee and asked the General Secretary to inform the Standing Orders Committee that in the opinion of the National Executive Committee the duties and responsibilities of the Standing Orders Committee were clearly set out in rule 42; that the National Executive Committee was not and is not suggesting that the Standing Orders Committee is responsible for any other body than conference; that the duties and responsibilities of the Standing Orders Committee are restricted to matters affecting the arrangements of the union's annual and rules revision conferences; that the duties and responsibilities of the elected National Executive Committee are clearly set out in rule 33; that the National Executive Committee is responsible for the management of the union in between conferences of the union; and that it does not wish for the Standing Orders Committee to be involved in those duties. It also points out to the Standing Orders Committee that the National Executive Committee, under rule 33(l), so determines any question on which the rules are silent or otherwise requires interpretation.

Obituaries

20. The union's journal up to the March 2004 issue had recorded that the following members and/or employees of BECTU or its founder unions have passed away during the course of the year: Matthew Allwork, Bert Betts, John Biggs, Dougie Bonicos-Smithers, Henry Bird, John Butcher, Pat Daly, Tom Dunlop, Reg Edwards, Melvin Harris, John Hemmington, Les Hodgson, Godfrey Jenniston, Ernie Johnson, Billy Jordan, Terry Lloyd, Dick Morris, Kevin Patton, Jon Pike, Peggy Plaskitt, John Ramsden, Lynne Robinson, Kevin Russell, Jess Shane, Graham Sumner, Reg Thomason, Sid Walton, Tim Warburton, Eddie Wilder, Kitty Wood, Fred Woods, Philip Wrestler.

Conference

21. The minutes of the 2003 annual conference held in Eastbourne were circulated to branches on 21 May in Branch Circular 648. Propositions carried and remitted at that conference and the manner in which the National Executive Committee has dealt with them are given in Appendix A or are reported on in the National Executive Committee's report.

22. Conference 2003 agreed that the union's 2004 annual conference should be held in Liverpool.

23. The National Executive Committee has spent considerable time examining the feasibility of holding the union's 2005 conference in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The National Executive Committee has reluctantly come to the view that the quotations it has received for holding the conference in Scotland and Wales are, at the moment, beyond the union's financial and logistical means.

24. At its meeting on 7 March 2004 the National Executive Committee examined in detail a proposal to hold the union's 2005 rules revision and annual conference in Ennis, County Clare, and subject to a facility visit is planning to hold the union's 2005 conference in Ireland at that venue.

Proposition 3/04 (AP2) Venue of conference

That this annual conference recommends that the National Executive Committee consider a venue outside England for the 2006 conference. Additionally, should conference 2005 be convened in one of the Nations, priority will be given to another Nation [in 2006].

Appeals Committee

25. Mary Corner was the only candidate nominated by branches for election to the Appeals Committee at conference 2003. The National Executive Committee subsequently invited nominations from branches to fill the four vacancies. As a result the following members were elected to serve on the Appeals Committee for the remainder of the 2003-2004 term of office: Mark Rivers, Trevor Owen, Graham Innes and Cris Woodcock.

Financial

26. The National Executive Committee at its meeting on 17 August 2003 endorsed the income and expenditure forecast for 2004 which is given in Appendix B.

Property project

27. The National Executive Committee gave a detailed report to the union's 2003 annual conference regarding the refurbishment of 373-377 Clapham Road and the sale of land to a property developer which would result in a payment to BECTU of £960,000. This report was endorsed by the union's 2003 annual conference.

28. Since May 2003 the property developer has been in a dialogue with the planning department of Lambeth Council and the planning committee, having sought a number of revisions to the original plans, was due to consider the application at the end of April 2004.

29. The National Executive Committee also reported to the union's 2003 annual conference regarding the refurbishment of 111 Wardour Street.

30. The refurbishment has in practice proved to be more problematical than was originally envisaged. The contractors were originally due to complete the refurbishment by August 2003. When the building was stripped out a number of quite serious structural problems became apparent, in particular the fact that the two buildings that make up 111 Wardour Street were drifting apart. This required the contractors to insert a steel frame at the centre of the building to pin both parts of the structure together and realign them.

31. This, together with some other modifications to the refurbishment, has meant that the refurbishment cost approximately £100,000 more than the original budget.

32. 111 Wardour Street was put on the market with a view to finding someone to take out a lease on the building, at the end of September 2003. Although there has been a great deal of interest in the property the majority of those who came to view have been more interested in purchasing 111 Wardour Street than leasing it.

33. It became clear to the National Executive Committee in September 2003 that unless some action was taken or a tenant found, the union would be compelled sooner or later to sell 111 Wardour Street to avoid drifting into unsustainable debt.

34. The National Executive Committee has been determined to try to retain 111 Wardour Street as part of the union's asset base and it was agreed, when the National Executive Committee met on 9 November 2003, that the General Secretary should seek a further facility with Unity Trust Bank for approximately £350,000. The overriding aim of this facility was to give the National Executive Committee the best opportunity of retaining 111 Wardour Street as part of the union's asset base.

35. The National Executive Committee had made arrangements to view the refurbished premises at 111 Wardour Street immediately prior to its meeting on Sunday 14 December 2003. Unfortunately there was a serious fire in Tylers Court, the alley running alongside the Wardour Street building, on the evening of 11 December. There was little doubt that the fire was started deliberately, though it is not known by whom. The fire caused serious damage to 111 Wardour Street and although the union is insured and the insurance company met the cost of repair it meant a delay in marketing the property. Against this background the National Executive Committee, at its meeting on the 25 January 2004, decided to test the market to establish what price could be obtained if the building were put up for sale. A decision is due to be made when the NEC meets immediately prior to the 2004 conference.

36. The total indebtedness of the union in respect of the various facility agreements we have with Unity Trust Bank is now £3.7 million. The value of 373-377 Clapham Road is approximately £2.5 million. The estimated value of 111 Wardour Street, if it were for sale, is approximately £4 million. The National Executive Committee is concerned that if we have not found a tenant for 111 Wardour Street by the time of conference 2004 we may be compelled to sell that building. A supplementary report will be given to conference.