SELF ORGANISED GROUPS CONFERENCES – RETIRED MEMBERS REPRESENTATIVES

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Conference
2015 National Retired Members Conference
Date
15 June 2015
Decision
Carried

Conference notes the review of arrangements for the National Retired Members Conference which is being carried out by the National Retired Members Committee (NRMC) following the carrying of Motion 19 (and the remittal of Motion 20) at the 2014 Retired Members Conference.

Conference also notes the change to National Rule D.6.8 passed at the 2014 National Delegate Conference which now reads as follows:

“The National Executive Council shall establish a Retired Members National Committee composed of representatives of Regional Retired Members organisations which may hold an annual conference of retired members and may elect two representatives to attend the National delegate conference. The National Retired Members Organisation may submit two motions to the National delegate Conference. The National Retired Members Organisation may send two representatives of relevant retired members to each National Self-Organised Group Conference, with the right to speak but not vote.”

Conference notes that it is for the National Retired Members Organisation to appoint two representatives to each of the four Self Organised Group (SOG) Conferences.

Conference notes that the provisions put in place at short notice by the NRMC to comply with the rule change in time for the 2014/15 cycle of SOG conferences were essentially a “top down” method of selection, whereby representatives were selected first from amongst those on the NRMC who identified with the relevant SOG, then, if there were still vacancies, expressions of interest were asked from the Regional Retired Members Committees. This meant that for some conferences places were filled without any retired members at Branch level having the opportunity to put themselves forward.

It has been stated that the current process to be a “temporary arrangement” which will be looked at as part of the overall review occasioned by Motion 19 of NMRC 2014, however Conference is concerned that the longer arrangements are temporary the more permanent they become, the more so since it appears that the same selection process is being used for the selection of Retired Members Representatives to SOG Conferences in 2015/16.

Conference is concerned this system not only lacks transparency in selection, but restricts the candidates for selection as representatives to a tiny minority of members of the Retired members’ organisation. Further Conference notes that there is no mechanism by which the representatives to the SOG conferences are accountable to the Retired Members Organisation.

Conference therefore instructs the NRMC, subject as need be, to the National Executive Council’s (NEC) authority, to:

1. Seek to ensure that the selection of representatives to SOG conferences is transparent and open to all retired members who identify with each group.

2. Make efforts to achieve a system with protocols whereby representatives to SOG conferences are accountable to NRMC and this Conference as the Retired Members Organisation.

3. Take steps to define the role of the SOG caucuses at National Retired Members Conference, acting within the any guidelines established by the NEC under National Rule D 4.4.1, including providing them with input into the transparency of selection and accountability of representatives to SOG conferences

4. Seek to ensure that the National Retired Members Organisation has a consistent approach to the appointment of representatives each and every SOG Conference.

5. Report back on action taken to comply with this motion to 2016 Conference.