(a) A General Meeting of the Union may be convened for any of the following purposes:-
(i) to consider proposals to reverse, alter or rescind any decisions or resolutions of the Union, and/or
(ii) to determine matters or issues submitted to the General Meeting.
(b) A General Meeting of the Union may be called at any time on the requisition of any of the following:-
(i) Union Council, or
(ii) two hundred members of the Union.
(c) The requisition must be in writing and handed to the Secretary, or Acting Secretary, who shall call the meeting at a suitable place on a Campus within three weeks of receipt of the requisition.
(d) No fewer than one hundred members of the Union, including Executive Members, shall form a quorum at a General Meeting of the Union. If a quorum is not present at a General Meeting either within thirty minutes after the appointed time for commencement of that meeting or duringa meeting, after a quorum count has been called, the person chairing that meeting shall dissolve that meeting.
(e) Only members of the Union present at a General Meeting shall be entitled to vote at that meeting.
(f) Not less than two weeks Notice of Meeting shall be given by the Secretary, or Acting Secretary and such Notice shall be displayed prominently on each Campus.
(g) The business of a General Meeting shall be restricted to the matters referred to in the requisition and that business shall be stated in the Notice of Meeting.
PART VII - UNION EXECUTIVE AND OFFICERS OF THE UNION 1. (a) There shall be an Executive of the Union and it shall:-
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(i) meet regularly at such times as it may determine, (ii) discuss agenda items for each meeting of Union Council,
(iii) in cases of emergency,where the Executive considers that the circumstances are such that a decision or action is required by the Union and it is not possible for the requisite notice to be given to convene a Union Council meeting, the Executive shall make such decisions and undertake such acts and matters, all subject to
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ratification by Union Council, as in the circumstances it may deem necessary, provided that such decisions are not contrary to the Constitution, Regulations or current Policy of the Union, and (iv) convene meetings as required under the provisions of PART VI of this
Constitution.
(b) A quorum at meetings of the Executive shall be the nearest whole number above one-half of those persons who are Executive Members.
(c) An Executive Member who intends to be absent for a period of time longer than two weeks duration and during which time they do not perform the duties attached to their respective position should seek formal 'leave of absence;
from an Executive meeting prior to such absence, or from the Union President, of their nominee, if the Executive shall not meet prior to such absence.
(d) An Executive member who does not obtain the necessary 'leave of absence' as prescribed under Part VII Section 1 (c) of this Constitution shall not be entitled to any payments of honorarium or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses which pertain to such period of absence.
2. (a) The elected members of the Executive shall be:- (i) the President of the Union,
(ii) the Secretary of the Union, (iii) the Finance Officer of the Union, (iv) the Activities Officer of the Union, (v) the Media Officer of the Union, (vi) the Education Officer of the Union, (vii) the Sports Officer of the Union, and (viii) the Women's Officer of the Union.
(b) The other members of the Executive shall be:-
(i) the Campus Presidents, one from each Campus of the College, and (ii) such other members as Union Council may determine, but not exceeding one-half of the total number of members specified in PART VII - Sections 2 (a) and 2 (b) (i) of this Constitution.
3. The President shall be the Chief Officer of the Union and shall:- (a) give administrative effect to the policies of the Union, (b) coordinate the day-to-day operations of the Union, and
(c) act as a point of contact between the Union and other interested bodies and represent the Union wherever necessary.
4. The Secretary shall be responsible for:-
(a) calling meetings of the Union as prescribed under PART VI of this Constitution;
(b) keeping up-to-date records of meeting minutes, correspondence and the preparation of meeting notices and agendas;
(c) keeping up-to-date records of Union Policies and Regulations;
(d) attending to correspondence as required; and
(e) such other duties as are specifically allocated within this Constitution.
5. The Finance Officer shall be responsible for:-
(a) preparation, for each semester, of a budget for expenditure of the Union's funds to be submitted to a meeting of Union Council for approval before the commencement of the semester and for forwarding to the College Council,
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(b) general supervision of expenditure of the Union's funds within the budget approved by Union Council,
(c) preparation and keeping of such accounting and associated reports as may be required by the Executive, Union Council and/or College Council, (d) preparation of financial statements and submission of such statements of
accounts to each meeting of Union Council,
(e) ensuring that annual audits of the Union's financial records, reports and statements are conducted, and
(f) presentation of the audited financial records, reports and statements to Union Council for approval and to the Annual General Meeting for adoption and subsequent forwarding to the College Council.
6. The Executive Officers shall have such other or further powers, duties, functions and authorities as may be prescribed in the Regulations pursuant to this Constitution and which may be decided by Union Council.
7. An Executive Officer of the Union may resign by giving notice, in writing, to the Secretary or Acting Secretary, of the Union. Such resignations shall take effect on the date that the resignation is received unless some later date is specified in the notice and is approved by the Executive. The President shall accept the responsibilities for any position vacated by the resignation of an Executive Officer until either:
(a) the Executive appoints a Campus Organiser, from the respective Department, as Acting Officer, or
(b) a replacement Officer has been elected, and notwithstanding that in the event of the resignation of an Executive Officer during the last four months in any calendar year the Executive shall appoint a Campus Organiser, from the respective Department, as Adting Officer for the remainder of that calendar year, excepting that:
(i) in the event of the resignation of the President, the Executive shall elect a Campus President to act as President until a by-election has been held to elect a replacement Presidentor until the expiration of the calendar year if such resignation is within the last four months of the calendar year, and
(ii) in the event of the resignation of the Finance Officer, the President shall accept the responsibilities of the postion until either a by-election has been held to elect a replacement Finance Officer or until the expiration of the calendar year if such resignation is within the last four months of that calendar year.
8. An Executive Officer of the Union shall be deemed to have vacated office if absent, without leave, from three consecutive meetings of Union Council or six consecutive meetings of Union Executive.
9. Where the conduct of an Executive Officer is considered prejudicial to the interests and operations of the Union, or the Officer is considered unable to discharge the duties of the Office held, such Officer may be either suspended from or removed from the position by resolution of Union Council, provided that:-
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(a) such motion shall be passed if not less than two-thirds of the eligible voting members present vote in favour of the motion,
(b) not less than fourteen days notice of motion has been given of the intention to move that motion at the Union Council meeting, and
(c) the Officer concerned has been given not less than fourteen days notice, in writing, of entitlement to attend and state a case to the Union Council
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meeting and/or to make a submission in writing to the Executive. Any such submissions may be published with the permission of the Officer concerned.
(d) in the case of a Union Council decision to suspend an Officer the period of time and any restrictions shall be prescribed by way of a motion carried by not less than two-thirds of the eligible voting members present voting in favour of the motion and notwithstanding that any suspension shall not be for a period longer than six weeks duration.
10. (a) Where a casual vacancy occurs in the Executive, through any cause whatsoever, such a vacancy shall be filled by the provisions prescribed in Part VII Section 7 of this constitution.
(b) The by-election to fill a casual vacancy shall be held as soon as practicable and the provisions of PART X of this Constitution shall apply to the by- election.
11. (a) The Executive Officers of the Union shall hold office for a period of twelve months, commencing on the first day of the relevant calendar year and expiring on the last day of that year;
(b) Executive Officers elected at a by-election shall hold office from the date of that by-election election until the last day of that year.
12. The Union shall be responsible for the authorised acts of its servants, agents, and honorary office-bearers and shall indemnify them with respect to payments made and personal liabilities incurred by them:-
(a) in the ordinary and proper conduct of Union business; and
(b) in or about anything done by them for the preservation of the property of the Union, providing always that such indemnity shall not apply to costs exceeding one hundred dollars per annum without the express approval of Union Council.
PART VIII - CAMPUS PRESIDENTS, CAMPUS ORGANISERS AND UNION