Rules 2002

Rule 8
National Executive Council

(a) There shall be a central administrative body called the National Executive Council (NEC), which shall consist of members elected to represent industrial sectors, geographical sectors and disabled members.

(b) There shall be one representative for disabled members and one from each of the following industrial sectors:

There shall be one or more representatives from each of the following geographical sectors:

The number of NEC members elected to represent each geographical sector shall be determined according to the number of members entitled to vote in that sector as follows:

and thereafter one extra seat for every 1,000 members.
The number of members entitled to vote in each geographical sector shall be determined by the NEC at a date not less than three months and not more than four months before the election., this date to be decided by the NEC.
The geographic electoral area of each NEC member representing a geographical sector shall be determined from time to time by the NEC in consultation with the members in the sector.

(c) A member who is eligible for election to the NEC shall be entitled to vote in the industrial sector in which s/he is registered as working and in the geographical sector in which s/he lives and stand for office either in the industrial sector in which s/he is registered as working or in the geographical sector in which s/he lives.

(d) Members of the NEC shall be elected annually. Nominations shall be by branches with members in the appropriate industrial or geographic sector. The nominee’s consent is required. Elections shall be by means of a postal ballot.

(e) Nominations shall be sent to the General Secretary not less than 17 weeks before the Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM). The General Secretary shall be responsible for the conduct of the ballots, and the results of the voting shall be declared not less than four weeks before ADM. Each candidate seeking election to the NEC shall be invited to supply a statement, not exceeding 400 words, together with details of union offices held which will be sent to those members entitled to vote. Where nominations do not exceed the number of representatives required for a sector, the nominee or nominees shall be deemed to be elected; otherwise there shall be a ballot of the members.

(f) The General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary shall also be members of the NEC and of its committees but shall not be entitled to vote. The editor of the union’s journal shall have the right to attend meetings of the NEC and its committees.

(g) There shall be an Emergency Committee of the NEC which shall consist of the three national officers plus four other members elected from the incoming NEC by ADM. The General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary shall be members of the Emergency Committee. The Emergency Committee shall have power to deal with any matter with which the NEC has power to deal unless two or more members of the Emergency Committee request that a matter shall be dealt with by the full NEC. When meeting to consider and decide upon an industrial dispute, the Emergency Committee shall invite to attend for that item such members of industrial councils and the NEC who are representative of members directly affected by the dispute. Such industrial council and NEC members shall have the power to speak but not to vote on that item at the Emergency Committee meeting. The NEC and Emergency Committee shall have power to delegate their duty to hear complaints and appeals under Rule 24 to a complaints committee consisting of NEC members only. The NEC shall elect from its own members such committees as it deems necessary to conduct the business of the union and shall have power to co-opt non-voting members on to these committees.

(h) The President, Vice-President and Treasurer shall be members of the NEC at the time of election.

(i) Officers and members of the NEC shall hold office from the close of one ADM to the close of the next.

(j) Any casual vacancy which may occur among the national officers of the union shall be filled by appointment by the NEC. If any NEC member should resign, die, remove from the area, be permanently incapacitated or be otherwise unable to fulfil the duties during his/her term of office, the branches in the area represented by the member concerned shall elect a successor for the unexpired period of the term of office. A resignation shall not be effective until it has been notified to the General Secretary and accepted by the NEC. The NEC shall be empowered to declare a vacancy where any member of the council fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the council to which he/she has been summoned.

(l) Each NEC member shall, with the authority of the council, carry out propaganda and organisation work in his/her electoral area. For all such work, or any other union work authorised by the NEC, he/she shall be allowed reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, account of which he/she shall render to the General Treasurer. He/she shall be kept informed by the General Secretary of any dispute concerning union members occurring in his/her electoral area. He/she shall have the right to attend and speak at industrial council, branch and chapel meetings in his/her own electoral area. Members of the NEC Emergency Committee shall have the right to attend and speak at any industrial council, branch or chapel meeting.

(m) The meetings of the NEC shall be held at such times and places as may be found convenient. 50 per cent of the NEC members plus one shall form an NEC quorum. A special meeting shall be summoned by the General Secretary at the request of the President or on receipt of a requisition signed by at least 50 per cent of the NEC members plus one.

(n) Members of the Equality Council and the Black Members’ Council shall have an automatic right to attend and speak at, but not vote at, meetings of the NEC and its committees when issues relevant to their own work are being discussed.

(o) The chair and vice-chair of the IEC and the SEC may be invited to attend meetings of the NEC or its committees.

(p) Each member of the NEC shall be paid reasonable expenses for each attendance at a duly convened meeting of the council or its committees or for any other union work authorised by the NEC. Should attendance at such a meeting entail financial loss to a member who is a freelance journalist he/she shall be allowed to claim compensation at a rate to be determined by the NEC from time to time. In the case of a job share, such payments shall be limited to the reasonable expenses and allowances of one of the two job-sharing individuals, save for the first meeting of any body, when both may attend and be paid reasonable expenses and allowances. Accounts of all expenses and allowances claimed by NEC members shall be rendered to the General Treasurer.

(q) The NEC shall administer the affairs of the union and shall have power in accordance with the rules to do such things on behalf of the union as may be expedient. Unless specifically prevented by these rules the NEC shall have power to interpret the rules and to determine any question on which the rules are silent and no policy has been laid down by ADM.

(r) The NEC shall each year set financial budgets for industrial councils, the Black Members’ Council, the Ethics Council, the Equality Council, the Continental European Council, the IEC and the SEC taking into account the workload undertaken by each body, including running costs. The budgets shall not stipulate the number of meetings to be held during the year, each body being free to set its own timetable within the budget.

(s) The NEC shall have power to summon any member before it or any committee appointed by the NEC or the union. Such member shall be given at least seven days’ notice.

(t) The NEC shall have power to employ such paid clerical and other assistance as from time to time it considers necessary for the efficient execution of the union’s work and to provide pensions, annuities, or allowances to members of the staff or their dependants by means of a contributory scheme or otherwise.

(u) The NEC shall have power to call for the production of the minutes and account books of a branch or other union agency at any time for the purposes of inspection or investigation.

(v) The NEC shall have the power to authorise the expenditure of monies on any union purpose specified in these rules and in its absolute discretion on:

(w) The NEC shall table motions for the Trades Union Congress in consultation with the TUC delegation which thereafter shall have full authority over all other issues relating to the union’s participation at the TUC conference.

(x) Other than the national officers, any member of the NEC shall be removed from office if such removal is supported by two-thirds of votes cast in a ballot of members entitled to vote in his/her electoral area, provided that not fewer than 100 members in that area have made written application for such removal to the General Secretary who shall arrange for a ballot to be taken not later than six weeks after receiving such request.

(y) On receiving a request signed by the chairs and secretaries of not fewer than one-fifth of the branches of the union that any one or more of the trustees or national officers shall be removed from office the NEC shall call a Special Delegate Meeting (SDM) within two months for the purpose of deciding such issue. If two-thirds of the delegates voting at the meeting are in favour of removal of such trustees or national officers they shall thereupon cease to hold office.

(z) The NEC shall conduct a ballot of the whole of the membership only when required by rule, or to comply with the requirements of a delegate meeting. Where such a ballot is conducted, its decision shall be binding and shall not be capable of variation except by the result of a further ballot of the whole membership.