GSG 12-20 CWU Conference 2020
15/April/2020
Description
Today, Wednesday 15th April, the National Executive Council held a meeting by video-conference to take some key decisions in relation to the recently postponed CWU Biennial Conference.
The Rules & Constitution of the Communications Workers’ Union, like most organisations, don’t have any provisions to cover the impact on operations which the COVID-19 crisis has had. As you will be aware, in addition to the dealing with the NEC Report we would have been due to elect a new National Executive Council, along with a new President and Vice-President, at our Biennial Conference which was to take place in May.
In relation to the postponement of conference, the NEC agrees to provisionally change the dates to October 21st-23rd 2020 (still in Athlone), obviously subject to advice from the authorities in relation to the pandemic.
We further agreed that the existing National Executive Council would remain in situ until the postponed Conference in October. It was further accepted that legal advice would be sought in relation to the Rules & Constitution to deal with instances where sitting members of the present NEC were no longer full benefit members of the CWU. The Executive did discuss the possibility of electing a new NEC by postal ballot, but it was the overwhelming view of the meeting that such action should only take place in the event that we have to once again postpone the Conference in October.
Union Head Office has been in contact with the Registrar of Friendly Societies which oversees the Rules & Constitutions of trade unions and it has informed us that, in circumstances where the Rules are silent, the ruling body – i.e. the National Executive Council – is obliged to make a decision.