RULES OF GOVERNMENT PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS’ ASSOCIATION
(name of trade union)
- Name
TheUnion formed under these rules shall be called Government Professional Engineers’ Association and is hereinafter referred to as the Union. It shall have a seal bearing its title.
- Registered office
The registered office shall be at 72 Bis Mamelon Vert Street, Port Louis or Plaine Lauzun Workshop, Ministry of Works .or at such other place as the Executive Committee may from time to time decide. In the event of any change in the situation of the registered office, notice of such change shall be given at once to the Registrar.
- Objects
The objects of the Union shall be:-
(a)To regulate relations and settle disputes by conciliatory methods whenever possible between the members and their employers and, whenever necessary, between the members and other workers;
(b)To obtain and maintain fair and reasonable rates of remuneration hours of work and other conditions of service and generally to protect the interest of its members;
(c)To maintain funds for these purposes and for the purpose of protecting the rights of members in relation to their contract of employment;
(d)To co-operate with other trade unions having for one of their objects the promotion of the interests of workmen within the scope of the Industrial Relations Act, 1973;
(e)To promote the image of Engineers.
- Membership
(a)Membership is open to any person of either sex who is employed by the Government of Mauritius and is registrable or registered with the Council of Registered Professional Engineers under Ordinance No 49 of 1965 as subsequently amended.
(b)The entrance fee shall be Rs 25 and the monthly contribution Rs 30. The contribution is payable at the end of each month.
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(c)Members shall give to the Secretary their precise residential address and place of employment and this information shall be inserted on their membership card.
(d)Application for the membership card shall be submitted to the Secretary on the application form obtainable at the seat of the Union. The Secretary shall submit the application to the Executive Committee which shall decide whether to accept or reject the application.
(e)If the application is rejected, the Secretary shall so inform the applicant by registered post. If the applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the Executive Committee, he shall have the right to appeal to a special general meeting.
- Appeal to Special General Meeting
Whenever in these rules there is a right of appeal to a Special General Meeting against any decision of the Executive Committee, such decision shall be communicated by the Secretary to the person concerned by registered post. Any appeal, which must be backed by at least five compliance members, should be sent to the Secretary by registered post not later than fifteen days after the date of the notification of the decision. The Executive Committee shall convene a Special General Meeting to be held within one month of the receipt of the notice of appeal for the purpose of hearing the appeal and the Secretary shall notify the person concerned by registered post of the time, place and date of the Special General Meeting at least five days before the date fixed for such meeting. The person concerned shall have the right to bring witnesses to depose on his behalf and he shall have the right to speak at the meeting, if he so wishes, to uphold his case. The decision of the Special General Meeting shall be final.
- The Executive Committee
(a)The Union shall be managed by an Executive Committee composed of seven members elected at the Annual General Meeting. The elected members shall hold office for one year and shall be eligible for re-election.
The election of members shall be by show of hands or by ballot if so requested by a majority of the members present. The procedure for taking a ballot shall be the same as in rule 24. The result of the election shall be ascertained by the scrutineers and made known through the member presiding the meeting.
(b)There shall not be more than two members from the same Ministry in the Executive Committee.
Provided that if no candidate is available to satisfy rule 6(b), the general assembly shall be empowered to choose any compliance member irrespective of the Ministry to which he belongs, to form part of the Executive Committee.
(c)The elected members shall choose from among themselves and appoint a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, a Treasurer and an Assistant Treasurer.
- Removal of the Executive Committee
The whole Executive Committee may be removed by a resolution carried at a Special Meeting convened for the purpose. One-fifth of the number of compliance members shall constitute a quorum.
Provided that any member who absents himself from 3 consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee shall automatically lose his seat on the committee and the remaining members shall proceed with the filling of the vacancy so caused.
A Special General Meeting shall, after removing the members of the Executive Committee, appoint an ad hoc committee for a period of not more than four months for the purpose of administering the affairs of the Union and electing a new executive committee in accordance with rule 6.
7A.Removal of members of the Executive Committee
(a)Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed by a resolution carried at a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose. The quorum for such a meeting shall be one third of the number of compliance members. The Special General Meeting shall appoint from among the members present at the meeting another member to fill the vacancy.
(b)Any member of the Executive Committee who absents himself from four consecutive meetings of the Committee without good and sufficient cause shall cease to be a member of the Committee by a decision of the committee. The member shall be notified in writing of the decision. The vacancy shall be filled in accordance with rule 14.
- Removal of Office-Bearers
Any office-bearer may be removed and replaced as such by a decision of the majority of the members of the Executive Committee. Any office-bearer who is thus removed shall continue, however, to be a member of the Executive Committee.
- Meetings of the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall meet at least once every month or as often as it may be necessary. The Secretary shall convene the members to meetings by giving at least two days notice in writing or by phone call stating at the same time the matter to be discussed at each meeting.
Any two members of the Executive Committee may, on a requisition fully stating the terms of the question, ask for a meeting of the Committee and the meeting shall be held within ten days of the receipt by the Secretary of such requisition.
Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be presided over by the President. If the President is absent, the Vice-President will act in his place. If the Vice-President also is absent, a member from among those present shall be chosen to preside over the meeting.
Four members shall constitute a quorum. If no quorum is obtained, the meeting shall be adjourned for one week and at that subsequent meeting at least three members present shall constitute a quorum.
Decisions shall be taken by a majority vote of the members present. In case of equality of votes, the President or the member presiding the meeting shall have a casting vote in addition to his original vote.
- Qualifications for candidature as an officer
No member shall be an officer of the Union unless:-
(i)he is a compliance member;
(ii)he is a registered professional Engineer.
- Disqualification from holding office in Executive Committee
(a)No member shall be qualified to become, or having been so appointed or elected, shall continue to be an officer who:-
(i)is a minor;
(ii)is an undischarged bankrupt or is insolvent;
(iii)has, within the three preceding years, been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty;
(iv)is not a member of the trade union; and
(v)is incapable of performing his duties.
(b)A member whose contributions are three months in arrears shall not be eligible to hold any office or act in any representative capacity in the Union; but nothing in these rules shall invalidate any prior act or thing done by such member in performance of his duties as an officer of the Union.
- Powers and duties of the Executive Committee
(a)The Executive Committee shall be vested with full powers for the administration of the affairs of the Union. It shall give instructions to the Secretary and other officers for the conduct of the business of the Union. It may appoint such organizers and such clerical staff as it may consider necessary. It may suspend or dismiss any member of the staff for neglect of duty, dishonesty, incompetence, refusal to carry out the decision of the Executive Committee or any other reason which it deems good and sufficient in the interests of the Union. Any member of the staff not satisfied with the decision of the Executive Committee shall have the right to appeal to a Special General Meeting.
(b)The Executive Committee shall be empowered to delegate to the President and any one other member of the Committee such powers as may be expedient for carrying out the objects of the Union.
(c)The union, may, through its Executive Committee, be affiliated to asimilar Unions in Mauritius or overseas, provided that such affiliation is not detrimental to the objects of the Union.
(d)Between annual general meetings, the Executive Committee shall interprete the rules when necessary and determines any point on which the rules are silent.
(e)The Executive Committee shall be empowered to use the Union funds to further the objects of the Union as laid down in the rules.
(f)The Executive Committee shall be entitled to accept donations and legacies from any source provided that such donations and legacies are free from any conditions detrimental to the objects of the Union.
(g)The Committee shall not be empowered to borrow money or mortgage, pledge, charge or dispose of any property of the Union unless a majority of all the members of the Union who are not disqualified from voting have consented to the transaction.
(h)The Executive Committee shall be bound to take such action as may be decided upon by a majority vote of the members present at a Special General Meeting or at the Annual General Meeting, provided that such action is in accordance with provisions of the Industrial Relations Act, 1973.
(i)The Executive Committee shall represent the members in any negotiation and, subject to section 51 of Industrial Relations Act, 1973, enter into any agreement with the employer or employers.
It may secure representations on any council or committee now in existence or that may be set up in future which affect them.
(j)It may appoint special committees, whenever necessary, to study and report on problems and matters concerning the Union.
- Vacancies in the Executive Committee (How filled)
Vacancies in the Executive Committee occurring within one month of the date of the next Annual General Meeting shall remain unfilled until the meeting.
In the case of office bearers, members of the Executive Committee shall be co-opted to fill in vacancies.
The Executive Committee shall have power to fill vacancies occurring during any year up to a maximum of three. Any vacancy in excess of three which occurs in any year shall be filled by a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose.
The manner for filling the vacancies shall be as follows:-
The Secretary shall inform all compliance members of the Union of the vacancies and any member wishing to stand as candidate shall send in his letter of candidature to the Secretary not later than two weeks before the date of the meeting. The candidates shall be elected by show of hands or by ballot if so requested by one-fifth of the number of members present and entitled to vote.
- Duties of the President and Vice-President
The President shall preside at all meetings and sign the Minutes of Proceedings and other official documents. He shall have an original vote and, in case of equality of votes, he shall have a casting vote. He shall in conjunction with the Treasurer, sign all cheques, deeds and other documents. He will be paid such honorarium as may be approved by the Annual General Meeting.
The Vice-President shall act as President whenever the latter is absent or is unable to perform his duties and he shall thereby have the same powers and privileges as the President.
- Duties of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary
The Secretary shall attend all meetings and record minutes of proceedings which he will sign when approved. He shall have the right to speak and to vote. He shall also prepare the Annual Report. He shall conduct the business of the Union in accordance with the rules and act under the instructions of the Executive Committee. He shall send to the Registrar on or before the first day of August in every year a general statement duly audited of all receipts and expenditure of the Union in respect of every year, and of the assets and liabilities of the union existing on the 31st December in every year. The statement shall show separately the expenditure in respect of the several objects of the union and shall comprise such particulars as the Registrar may from time to time require, and every member of the union shall on application to the Secretary or the Treasurer of the Union be entitled to receive a copy of such general statement after paying the requisite amount to photocopy the statement. Together with the general statement, the Secretary shall send to the Registrar a statement of the names and postal address of the officers of the union and a return of its membership on the 31st December of the previous year, and also a copy of the rules of the unionas theyexist at that date.Any change of office-bearer shall be notified to the
Registrar within 7 days of such change. The Secretary shall within 21 days after the receipt by him of a written request by the Registrar furnish to him a true statement showing any particulars relating to the union as may be specified in the request. His remuneration shall be fixed by the Annual General Meeting.
The Assistant Secretary shall replace the Secretary whenever the latter is absent or is unable to perform his duties and he shall thereby have the same powers and privileges as the Secretary.
- Duties of the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer
The Treasurer shall keep a book of accounts showing receipts and payments of the trade union, and other books as may be necessary and shall be responsible for all moneys belonging to the Union. He shall have the right to speak and vote. He shall prepare an audited financial statement in the prescribed form in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Industrial Relations Act, 1973 for the Annual General Meeting and every member shall be entitled to a copy of the Annual statement of accounts of the Union free of charge. He shall keep a registrar (in the form 12 of the Schedule to G.N. No. 16 of 1974) showing the names, occupations, addresses and payments made by members and shall cross out from the registrar the names of lapsed members. He shall deposit in a local bank chosen by the Executive Committee all moneys received by him except a sum not exceeding Rs100, which he shall keep for emergencies. His remuneration shall be fixed by the Annual General Meeting. In case of absence, he shall be replaced by the Assistant Treasurer who shall thereby have the same powers and privileges as the Treasurer.
- Auditors
(a)Two Auditors shall be appointed by the Annual General Meeting with the approval of the Registrar.
The Auditors may be removed and replaced by a decision of a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose.
(b)The Auditors shall examine at least once, every six months the Register of members and all the account books of the Union, check all receipts and payments and shall certify accordingly. They shall have access to all books, accounts, vouchers and other documents of the union which they may consider necessary.
They shall prepare a report of the financial position of the union, and the manner in which the accounts have been kept. This report shall accompany the annual statement of accounts. A copy of the annual statement of accounts and of the auditors’ report thereon shall be conspicuously placed at the Registered Office of the Union. The remuneration of the Auditors shall be fixed by the Annual General Meeting.
- The Annual General Meeting
(a)The Annual General Meeting shall be held on or before the 20th March in every year.
(b)One-fifth of the compliance members of the trade union shall constitute a quorum. Should there be no quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned for two weeks and at that subsequent meeting, whatever the number of members present shall constitute a quorum.
(c)The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to receive reports including the statement of accounts and of the assets and liabilities of the Union for the preceding year from the Executive Committee, to review the past work of the Union and plan future tasks, to elect the members of the Executive Committee and appoint two auditors and to consider all matters upon the Agenda.