Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)SchedulesSchedule 9 : Model Constitution for a Statutory Council6. Council meetings |
| (1) | The council must hold— |
| (a) | an annual general meeting in the month of ___ each year; and |
| (b) | an ordinary meeting at least once every ___ month (s). |
| (2) | A special meeting of the council— |
| (a) | may be called at any time by the chairperson with a view to disposing of urgent business; and |
| (b) | must be called by the chairperson within 14 days of— |
| (i) | receiving a request for that purpose, stating the purpose of the special meeting and signed by not less than .......... representatives; or |
| (ii) | the adoption of a resolution by the council calling for a special meeting. |
| (3) | At the annual general meeting the council must— |
| (a) | elect the additional members of the executive committee; |
| (b) | elect the chairperson and the deputy chairperson of the council; |
| (c) | appoint the members of the panel of conciliators referred to in clause 11(1)(a); |
| (d) | appoint the members of the panel of arbitrators referred to in clause 11(1)(b); |
| (e) | appoint the members of an exemptions board to consider and dispose of applications for exemption from the provisions of any collective agreement that may be concluded in the council; |
| (f) | consider the annual financial statements of the council and the auditor"s report on those statements; and |
| (g) | consider and approve, with or without any amendments, the budget of the council for the next financial year as prepared in terms of clause 15(10) |
| (4) | The secretary must prepare a written notice of every council meeting stating the date, time and venue of the meeting and the business to be transacted, and must send the notice to each representative by registered post at least .......... days before the date of the meeting. However, the chairperson may authorise shorter notice for a special meeting. |
| (5) | At least half of the total number of employer representatives and half of the total number of employee representatives form a quorum and must be present before a meeting may begin or continue. |
| (6) | If, at the time fixed for a meeting to begin or continue, and for 30 minutes after that time, there is no quorum present, the meeting must be adjourned to the same place at the same time on the corresponding day in the following week unless that day is a public holiday, in which case the meeting must be adjourned to the day immediately after that public holiday. |
| (7) | A meeting that has been adjourned in terms of subclause (6) may proceed on the date to which it was adjourned with the representatives present at the time called for the meeting, regardless of whether or not notice has been given in terms of subclause (4) and whether or not a quorum is present. |
| (8) | The secretary must cause minutes to be kept of the proceedings at council meetings. |
| (9) | At every meeting of the council— |
| (a) | the secretary must read the minutes of the previous meeting, unless they were previously circulated; and |
| (b) | after the minutes have been confirmed, with or without any amendments, the chairperson must sign the minutes. |
| (10) | A motion proposed at a meeting may not be considered unless it has been seconded. The chairperson may require a motion to be submitted in writing, in which case the chairperson must read the motion to the meeting. |
| (11) | Unless this constitution provides otherwise, all motions must be decided by a majority of votes of those present and entitled to vote and voting must be by show of hands. |
| (12) | Each representative has one vote on any matter before the council for its decision. However, if at the meeting the employer representatives and employee representatives are not equal in number, the side that is in the majority must withdraw so many of its representatives from voting at that meeting as may be necessary to ensure that the two sides are of equal numerical strength at the time of voting. |
| (13) | If any question which the executive committee considers to be extremely urgent arises between meetings of the council, and it is possible to answer that question by a simple "yes" or "no", the executive committee may direct the secretary to cause a vote of the representatives on the council to be taken by post. A proposal subjected to a postal vote may be adopted only if it is supported by at least two-thirds of the total number of representatives who are entitled to vote. |
| (14) | The executive committee may adopt general rules of procedure for its meetings and for the meetings of the council and its other committees. However, in the event of any conflict between those rules and the provisions of this constitution, the provisions of this constitution will prevail. |