SECTION G. Policy Making

1. Preamble
UNISON will be membership led and as such policies will be determined by the members whether the policy relates to an issue within a particular workplace / department or to an issue which is of significance to the General Membership at Branch or National level.

Any structures put in place must recognise this major principle.
There are 4 levels within the policy making structure of the Branch and the following outlines how each tier relates to the members.

2. Workplace Meetings
These will be convened on a frequency agreed between the membership group and their Shop Steward. Further meetings may also be convened to deal with particular issues. Members will be provide with the opportunity to propose / move policy on issues which relate to the union at any level.

If agreed at the Workplace Meeting the issue will be acted upon or progressed for consideration to the relevant level of the Branch.

3. Departmental Committee
This body will consider all relevant matters referred from Workplace Meetings or, in the absence of such a meeting, raised by a Shop Steward on behalf of the membership group he / she represents.
If agreed by the Departmental Committee the issue will be acted upon or progressed for consideration to the relevant level of the Branch.

4. Departmental Meeting
This body will be open to all members of the particular Department. It will consider all matters of a conditions of service nature affecting the department. Matters may be raised directly by members to this forum and decisions made there, if competent, will constitute mandates to the appropriate Departmental Committee.

5. Branch Committee
This body will consider all relevant matters referred from Departmental Committees or Branch Officers. Shop Stewards may raise issues directly only if they have not had the opportunity to raise the matter at their Departmental Committee and time constraints require the Branch Committee to make a decision. If agreed by the Branch Committee the issue will be acted upon or progressed to the relevant level of the Union.

6. Branch Meetings
There will be four branch meetings each year including the AGM. The dates of these shall be set by the A.G.M. However, in exceptional circumstances the Branch Committee may alter these as the situation demands.

It should also be noted that the Branch Committee is able to call additional branch meetings, and meetings can also be requisitioned by the membership.

The Branch Meeting will consider issues affecting the Branch as a whole or which will have to be progressed to Regional or National levels of the organisation for consideration.

Relevant matters may be raised directly to this forum by any member or committee of the branch.

[NOTE: In relation to all stages of policy making, all decisions must be confirmed by the branch secretary as being in accordance with the policies of UNISON unless the substance of the proposal calls for a change in policy. In such instances the proposal will not be acted upon until it has been approved at the relevant level of the branch.]

SECTION H.
Standing Orders for Branch Annual and General Meetings

Sections marked thus * apply also to Branch Committees, Departmental Committees and Departmental Meetings

1. Initial Notice of Meeting shall be issued not less than 28 days in advance of the meeting and shall contain the date, time and venue of the meeting and notification of timescales for the submission of motions and nominations for Branch Officers.

2. Formal Notice of Meeting shall be given by a circular to be issued by the Branch Secretary not less than seven clear days in advance of the meeting and which shall contain the Agenda of Business to be transacted including all competent and relevant motions submitted in accordance with these Standing Orders.

QUORUM
3. The quorum of the meeting shall be 200 members. The quorum for other meetings shall be as set out in Rule B.4

ORDER OF BUSINESS
4 The following business shall be considered by the Annual General Meeting.

1) Apologies for Absence ( to be submitted to the Branch Secretary in writing prior to the start of the meeting.)

2) Minutes of the previous A.G.M. and any other Branch Meetings which have taken place in the intervening period and consideration of any matters arising.

3) Annual Reports from Branch Officers ( these should have been previously issued to allow questions to be taken. Questions must be submitted to the Branch Secretary at least 24 hours prior to the meeting ).

4) Financial Statement for the previous years accounts.

5) Suggested Organisations to which the Branch should affiliate.

6) Election of Branch Officers;
(a) Branch President
(b) Branch Chairperson
(c) Branch Vice-Chairpersons (2), one of whom must be a woman
(d) Branch Secretary
(e) Assistant Secretary
(f) Branch Treasurer
(g) Branch Service Conditions Coordinator
(h) Branch Service Conditions Convener ( APT & C )
(i) Branch Service Conditions Convener (Manual)
(j) Branch Service Conditions Convener (Craft)
(k) Branch Service Conditions Officers (4), at least two of whom must be women.
(l) Branch Health & Safety Officer
(m) Branch Equalities Officer
(n) Branch Education Officer
(o) Branch Communications Officer
(p) Branch Recruitment/Membership Services Officer
(q) Branch International Relations Officer
(r) Branch Welfare Officer
(s) Branch Auditors (2)
(t) Branch Youth Officer
(u) Other Branch Officers as may be decided by the branch

7) Motions for which notice has been given.

8) Any Other Competent Business.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHAIRPERSON
5. The President, or in their absence the the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson, shall Chair the meeting. In the absence of all such Office Bearers the meeting shall appoint a person to Chair the meeting.
NOTE: For the purposes of the following paragraphs the term Chairperson will refer to the person chairing the meeting.

*6. Deference shall at all times be given to the authority of the Chairperson. When the Chairperson rises to speak, the member who is addressing the meeting shall resume his/her seat. It shall be the duty of the Chairperson to preserve order and to ensure members obtain a fair hearing. He/She shall decide all matters of order, competency and relevancy. He/She shall also be entitled to adjourn any meeting to a time he/she may then fix, and his/her quitting the Chair shall be the signal that the meeting has adjourned.
The Chairperson shall have both a deliberative and casting vote.

*7. The ruling of the Chairperson on any point of order, competency, relevance or policy shall be final unless challenged by at least four members and unless two thirds present and voting vote against such ruling.

Upon a competent challenge being made the Chair shall vacate the chair and a vote shall be taken without further debate.

NOTICES OF MOTION
*8. Notice of a motion for consideration by the meeting shall be given in writing, signed by the intended mover and seconder and delivered to the Secretary not less than fifteen clear days (11 days in the case of all meetings other than Branch Meetings) before the date of the meeting. Any such motion shall be considered at that meeting provided that any motion which, in the opinion of the Chairperson or Executive Committee, is irrelevant or incompetent shall not be placed on the Agenda or considered at the meeting.

If a tabled motion is not moved by the members responsible for its original submission or by another member on his/her behalf, it shall, unless postponed by leave of the meeting, be withdrawn from the Agenda.

AMENDMENT TO A MOTION
*9. An amendment to a motion shall be submitted, in writing, to the Branch Secretary not less than 3 days prior to the start of the meeting and will be moved, provided the amendment:-
a) is relevant, competent and intelligible as regards the proposal it is intended to amend;
b) does not alter the motion in such a way as to make it virtually a new motion;
c) does not imply mere negation;
d) is moved before the question is put;

Amendments to a motion shall be considered and dealt with one at a time. A vote shall be taken for or against the amendment and if the amendment is successful the motion shall be amended and become the substantive motion before the meeting. Subsequent amendments shall be dealt with in a similar manner. At the end of the debate there shall be a vote for or against the substantive motion. The right of reply to the debate shall pass to the mover of each subsequent successful amendment.

EMERGENCY MOTIONS
*10. An Emergency Motion will be considered provided
- The Chairperson rules it relevant and competent
- The substance of the motion arose outwith the Standing Order timescales for submission of motions
- At least two thirds of those present and voting agree its submission to the Agenda.

ORDER OF DEBATE
*11 The mover of a motion or amendment shall not speak for more than seven minutes unless with the consent of the meeting. Each other speaker shall not speak for more than three minutes, and shall speak only once in the same discussion unless to call attention to a point of order or, with the consent of the Chairperson, to make an explanation.

*12 The mover of the substantive motion shall have the right to speak for three minutes in reply, but no new matter shall be introduced by him/her in such reply. The discussion shall thereupon be closed and the question put by the Chairperson.

*13 A member desiring to speak shall raise his/her hand and, when called upon, shall address the meeting. He/She shall direct his/her speech strictly to the matter under consideration, or to a point of order.

*14 If two or more members rise to speak at the same time, the Chairperson shall decide the order of speaking.

*15 A member who is addressing the meeting when a point of order is raised shall resume his/her seat until the point has been decided by the Chairperson.

CLOSURE OF DEBATE
*16 At the close of any speech during a debate and provided that not less than five members have spoken, a member who has not spoken on the question may move “ that the question be put “. If this motion is seconded, the Chairperson shall instruct that a vote be taken without further debate. f it is carried, the mover of the original motion shall have the right of reply and the question under discussion shall then be put to the meeting.

*17 At the close of any speech during a debate and provided that not less than five members have spoken, a member who has not spoken on the question before the meeting may move “the previous question“. If this motion is seconded the Chairperson shall instruct that a vote be taken without further debate. If the motion is carried the meeting shall proceed with the next business.

VOTING ON MOTIONS
*18 Voting on motions shall be by a show of hands unless a motion for a ballot is supported by not less than twenty members present. Any member taking part in a vote may request his/her dissent from the decision be recorded.

ELECTIONS
*19 Nominations for Office-Bearer posts must be submitted at least 21 days (11 days in respect of Departmental elections) before the meeting and should carry the signature of two nominators. All nominations shall be confirmed by the Branch Secretary with the nominated individual.

20 In the event of an election being required all nominees shall submit biographical details (not exceeding 250 words) which will be made available to all those taking part in the vote.

21 Voting on elections shall be by secret ballot.

STANDING ORDERS
22 Any one or more of these Standing Orders may be suspended at any meeting with the consent of not less than two thirds of the members present and voting.

OTHER BRANCH MEETINGS
23 Emergency Branch meetings may be called by either;
1) The Branch Committee or
2) Submission of a request signed by at least 200 members stating the reason for calling an Emergency Meeting.

24 An Emergency Meeting shall only discuss that matter for which it has been called.

25 Timescales for convening Branch Meetings may be amended by the Branch Chairperson if, in his/her opinion, the substance matter requires earlier consideration.

In all cases of emergency meetings, the calling notice for such meeting will be circulated to all members and it will include the agenda and will state clearly the business to be addressed. This should include the terms of any motion submitted in terms of 23 (2) above.

SECTION I. Adoption of Branch Rules and Standing Orders

1. Approval/ Alteration to Branch Rules and Standing Orders
a) Branch Rules and Standing Orders must be agreed by two thirds of members present and voting at a quorate and properly constituted Annual General Meeting.

b) Branch Rules and Standing Orders must be approved in accordance with UNISON’s procedures.

c) Any changes to Branch Rules or Standing Orders must be agreed and approved in the same way.

2. Adoption Of Rules and Standing Orders
The foregoing Standing Orders, Rules and Branch Structures were adopted by UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch at its Inaugural Branch General Meeting on the 13th day of May 1996 and amended at its Annual General Meetings on the 17th day of February 1997.

Signed:
W. Heeps, Branch President
D. Black, Branch Chairperson
John Stevenson, Branch Secretary

The foregoing Standing Orders, Rules and Branch Structures were amended by UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch at its Annual General Meeting on the 26th day of February 1998.

Joe Galletta, Branch Chairperson
Morag Stevenson, Branch Secretary