NAME
1. The name of the Association shall be “THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CIVIL SERVICE ASSOCIATION”, hereinafter referred to as “the Association”,
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
2. The aims and objects of the Association shall be:-
a. to promote and to protect the interests and welfare of its members;
b. to promote understanding, cooperation, goodwill and improved working relationships between Government employees, the Government and the public;
c. to improve the Service generally;
d. to make representations to and bargain with Government leadership on general conditions of service, including salaries, and to make representations to Government on behalf of any individual member who feels aggrieved for any reason in connection with his employment;
e. to ascertain issues of common interest which are of concern to members of the Association and to represent or facilitate the representation of those concerns, either personally or in writing or through the provision of private or public forums, whereby those concerns may be addressed;
f. by personal or written appeals, public meetings, or otherwise as may from time to time be deemed expedient
g. to encourage comprehensive assessment, evaluation and prescription of solutions to problems confronting the Cayman Islands Civil Service, including through
i. a clear commitment to ongoing training at all levels of the Civil Service
ii. programs for organizational and staff reform
iii. appropriate professional and ethical standards both in provision of services to the public and in conditions of employment
h. To provide advice to Government on any matters which may arise within the Service;
i. to affiliate with any society or Societies of a similar nature, or to aid in their establishment;
j. to provide entertainment and social services to members;
k. to receive any gift subscription, contribution, donation, legacy, devise, bequest or grant of money and property of any kind whether the subject of any special trust or not for any one or more of the objects of the Association;
l. to manage the receipt from the Cayman Islands Government annual sums of money to be used to grant loans to those Civil Servants who may qualify in accordance with the issued Guidelines for Cayman Islands Housing Assistance to Civil Servants;
m. to carry out such other activities as are directed from time to time by a General Meeting of the Association;
n. to manage or otherwise deal with all or any part of the property of the Association, including to invest the monies of the Association, not immediately required for its purposes, in or upon such investments securities or property as may be thought fit, subject nevertheless to such conditions (if any) and such consents (if any) as may for the time being be imposed or required by any law or the Constitution or other rules of the Association;
o. to do all other such lawful things as are incidental or conductive to the attainment of the above objects.
MEMBERSHIP
3. Membership of the Association shall be of two classes: ORDINARY, and HONORARY.
a. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP shall be open to all.
b. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP shall be by invitation at the discretion of the Council of the Association.
c. ORDINARY MEMBERSHIP shall be open to any person who is, or was at any time, a member of the Public Service, as defined at the time of their Service. Unless otherwise stated in this section there shall be no difference in rights between an Honorary and an Ordinary member.
4. Ordinary members shall pay a subscription as follows:-
a. Active Public Servants: $5 per month
b. Pensioned Public Servants: $1 per month
c. Former Public Servants (non-pensioned): $5 per month
i. Persons who have worked for the Service for a minimum of five years total;
5. Cessation of Membership
a. A member whose subscription is one month in arrears shall cease to be a member of the Association and his name shall be removed from the Roll of Members.
b. A person who has ceased to be a member of the Association by reason of arrears of subscription shall be re-admitted to membership of the Association on payment of the current monthly subscription.
c. Membership begins upon receipt of payment, i.e., upon automatic paycheque deduction for those members who pay that way
6. On the dismissal of a member from Government employment he shall ipso facto cease to be a member of the Association.
a. A member dismissed from Government employment shall be eligible, upon application, to become an ordinary member of the association and treated as a former public servant.
b. Such decision to be made by the Council of the Association.
c. Such decision by the Council of the Association may be appealed to a regular General Meeting of the Association whereat such decision may be overturned by a vote of not less than two-thirds of the members present.
7. The Council of the Association shall have the power by a vote of not less than two-thirds of the members present to suspend or expel a member who in its opinion has been guilty of conduct deemed to bring the association into disrepute or who has refused to comply with any rule of the Association, provided that such member shall be first afforded opportunity of meeting the charges brought against him. Provided that a member suspended for more than six months or expelled shall have the right to appeal to the Association at the next General meeting if within twenty-eight clear days after his suspension or expulsion Notice and Grounds of Appeal are served on the Secretary of the Association. The Council shall have a right to address the Association on the hearing of his appeal.
a. The decision of the Council may be overturned by a vote of the General Meeting of not less than two-thirds of the members present.
8. Members may be required from time to time by Resolution passed at General Meeting to contribute to the Funds of the Association for the promotion of the objects for which the Association is formed. The secretary shall notify all members when the payment of such sums become due. Any member failing to pay the said sum within three months after such notification shall ipso facto cease to be a member of the Association. Membership may, however, be revived on payment of the sum in arrears.
9. Any member may resign his membership of the Association by giving to the Secretary notice in writing to that effect.
Management of the Association
10. The Management of the Association and the investment of its funds shall be vested in a Council, which shall consist of
a. A President, First and Second Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer; and
b. Six Directors; and
c. Two Directors who shall be elected by a meeting of the members of the association normally resident on the Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
2016 Revision
11. All members of the Council shall be
a. ordinary members of the Association;
b. a civil servant for two years immediately prior to being nominated to the Council;
c. a CICSA member for one year immediately prior to being nominated to the Council
12. The members of the Council shall be elected at the first regular General Meeting of the year by the ordinary members of the Association.
2016 Revision
13. The President and the Directors shall serve until the first regular general meeting of the next calendar year.
14. The Vice-Presidents, Secretaries and Treasurers shall serve until the first regular general meeting of the second calendar year following their election.
a. At the first election after the coming in to force of this constitution, the Second Vice-President, Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer shall be elected for one year.
15. Whenever possible, the following groups should be reflected on Council.
a. Uniformed
b. Teachers
c. Contracted Officers
d. Hourly Salaried Workers
e. Clerical or Administrative
16. Any member of the Council may be eligible for re-election.
a. Save that no individual may serve more than four consecutive terms in any given post, or two consecutive terms as a Vice-President, Treasurer or Secretary.
b. The Council shall have power to co-opt additional members but such co-opted members shall not be permitted to vote.
17. There shall be the following standing committees:
a. The Grievance Committee
i. Which shall render advice and assistance to members of the Association who feel aggrieved for any reason in connection with their employment, as able and practical and as requested
b. The Entertainment Committee
i. Which shall provide entertainment and social services to members
c. The Pensioned Members Committee
i. Which shall promote and protect the interests and welfare of pensioned members of the Association
d. The Public Relations Committee
i. Which shall promote the activities and goals of the Association as well as understanding and goodwill between Government employees and the public;
e. The Policy Committee
i. Which shall examine and promote ways to improve the Service generally;
f. The Business Committee
i. Which shall oversee
1. the management of any owned or rented property;
2. any staff, whether full-time, part-time or volunteer;
3. any business or long-term financial or procedural plans;
4. any similar activities assigned to its oversight by the Management Council.
g. The Sister Islands Committee
1. Which shall do all such lawful things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the Associations objectives.
18. The Council shall have power to appoint such other committees as may be deemed appropriate.
19. Any general member of the Association is eligible to serve as a voting member on any committee.
20. Any committee shall have power to co-opt additional members but such co-opted members shall not be permitted to vote.
21. Each committee shall set its own rules regulating its procedure, while conforming to any regulations that may be imposed by the Council, but shall generally
a. meet monthly;
b. require a simple majority of committee members for quorum; and
c. shall strive for consensus in decisions.
22. Replacement of Council members:
a. Whenever an officer, or any other ordinary member of the Council, shall be absent from the Islands or for any reasons in the opinion of the Council be unable to perform his duties effectively, the Council may appoint a deputy.
b. If a member, or any officer of the Council, shall be on leave of absence from the Islands his temporary vacancy may be filled at the discretion of the Council.
c. Should a member of the Council absent himself from three consecutive meetings of the Council, of which he shall be notified, his seat shall, on the absence of a reasonable excuse, become vacant and shall be so declared by the President.
d. Should any member of the Council die, be removed or be absent from the Islands for more than three months without leave of the Association during his period of office, the Council may elect a member to fill the vacancy thus created.
e. The Management Council may remove and appoint a replacement for any member of the Council on the ground that (owing to ill health, unsoundness of mind, removal from the country or for any other reason) they are unable or unsuitable to perform satisfactorily the duties of their office.
f. Any deputy or replacement council members shall retire at the first General Meeting of the following year, but may be eligible for election to the Council at that time.
i. Such election shall count as their first term for purposes of calculating the number of consecutive terms served in a post.
23. The Council shall meet at least once in every month.
a. Meetings and minutes of Council shall not be closed to any member of the Association.
24. The Council shall set its own rules regarding procedure but shall generally abide by the generally accepted rules of order, or other rules of the Association.
25. A simple majority shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Council.
26. Attendance, for purposes of quorum, may be by electronic means and such shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
27. If after thirty minutes from the time appointed for the meeting quorum is not present,
a. those present may meet and carry on business as an ad hoc Management Council and submit their decisions for ratification by the entire Council;
b. such ratification may be by electronic means and by voting at a meeting called the next week at a time and place directed by the President or the presiding officer of the ad hoc Council meeting;
c. the minutes of the follow-on meeting shall record whether the votes were registered electronically or in person.
28. The President, or in his absence the First Vice-President or in his absence the Second Vice-President, shall preside over all meetings of the Council. In the absence of these officers the meeting shall appoint one of the members present to be Chairman. The officer presiding shall have an original and a casting vote.
29. Voting at meetings of the Council shall be by show of hands unless the Council by a majority decides that voting on any matter shall be by ballot.
30. If at a meeting of the Council, the Chairman of the Council is of the opinion that, considering the importance of the business to be transacted at such meeting, it is desirable to register the full strength of opinion of the Association, he shall refer the matter for consideration at a special General Meeting.
31. The Management Council may appoint such paid officers, as it deems fit from time to time, and fix the remuneration of such officers.
32. The Management Council may enter in to contracts and carry out such other business on behalf of the Association, and as directed by resolutions of the General Meetings, as it deems fit from time to time.
COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR DUTIES
PRESIDENT and VICE-PRESIDENTS
33. The President shall:
a. In conjunction with the Secretary and the Treasurer superintend the administration of the affairs of the Association.
b. Have power to suspend until the next meeting of the Council an officer of the Association for failure to carry out the instructions of the Council.
c. Speak for the Association in order to promote and to protect the interests and welfare of its members.
d. To do all other such lawful things as are incidental or conductive to the attainment of the aims and objectives of the Association.
34. In the absence of the President, the First Vice-President or, in their absence, the Second Vice-President shall act in the place of the President when they shall have the same power and shall perform the same functions as the President.
35. The vice-Presidents shall assist the President in carrying out his or her duties.
SECRETARY
36. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to:
a. carry out the instructions of the Council;
b. keep a Roll of the members of the Association and such other books as the Council may direct;
c. conduct the correspondence of the Association;
d. prepare the agenda for all meetings of the Council and General Meetings of the Association, and send a copy of such agenda to each member of the Council at least seven days before such meeting;
e. take and preserve carefully all minutes of the proceedings and keep a record of the attendance of all members of the Council at meeting;
f. take action after agreement with the President, or his deputy, and with any other five members of the Council, in any emergency when time does not allow for the Council to be consulted. He shall at the next meeting inform the Council of the action taken;
g. keep an official copy of the Rules with amendments and the dates thereof entered up to date;
h. present a summarized report of meetings of the Council to the General Meeting next following.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
37. The Assistant Secretary shall assist the Secretary at all times in the performance of their duties.
38. The Assistant Secretary shall also be responsible for receiving:
a. issues and reports from the Department Liaisons and disseminating them to the appropriate members of Management Council;
b. ballots from members (or from Department Liaisons on behalf of members) submitting written votes to general meetings.
TREASURER
39. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to:
a. collect all monies from members;
b. bring into account all monies received by him for the Association and as early as possible lodge with the bankers of the Association all such monies as are not required for current expenses;
c. make such payments on behalf of the Association as the Council shall sanction from time to time;
d. keep the accounts for the Association and, when required render to the Council an account of all financial transactions, and at least two weeks before the date fixed for the First General Meeting, present a revenue and expenditure account and a balance sheet as at the end of the financial year;
e. submit for audit when required, and for inspection by any member of the Association who has notified the President of his intention, the account books and vouchers of the Association;
f. prepare professionally and externally audited financial statements after the close of each financial year and present same to the next General Meeting after their preparation.
ASSISTANT TREASURER
40. The Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer at all times in the performance of their duties.
VESTING OF PROPERTY
AND OTHER ISSUES RELATING TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION
41. The real and personal estate whatever belonging to the Association shall be vested in the Association and shall be dealt with in such a way as the Management Council may decide, or as directed by a General Meeting resolution of the Association.
42. Recall of Management Council
a. Any member of Management Council may be replaced by the majority vote of the members attending a General Meeting.
43. Department Liaisons
a. Management Council shall endeavour to identify a CICSA member in every Ministry, Department or other relevant government entity to act as a liaison between the members within that entity and the Management Council.
b. Department Liaisons shall
i. Disseminate information from CICSA to members, especially notice of general meetings;
ii. Assist and encourage members in attending General Meetings or registering their written vote to the Meeting, including delivering sealed ballots to the Assistant Secretary;
iii. Assist members with raising issues with Management Council, e.g., directing members to the CICSA grievance committee when needed’
iv. Encourage and assist non-members to become members of CICSA.
c. The Assistant Secretary shall be responsible for receiving issues and reports from the Department Liaisons and disseminating them to the appropriate members of Management Council.
GENERAL MEETINGS
44. Regular General Meetings of the Association shall be held at least twice annually.
45. Notice of General Meetings
a. Notice of a General Meeting shall be given to members by advertisement, circular, website posting or electronic mail, 28 and 14 days in advance of such meeting.
b. The 28 day notice shall include invitation for members to submit motions, resolutions, nominations or other matters for discussion.
i. Any notice of motion, resolution, nomination for Management Council, or of other matters intended for the meeting are to be received by the Secretary at least 21 days before the date fixed for such meeting. All motions, resolutions and nominations shall include a proposer and a seconder, both of whom must be current members of the Association.
c. The 14 day notice shall include the agenda of the General Meeting.
i. This notification shall include all motions or resolutions to be voted on at the meeting, excepting those arising at the meeting itself.
2015 Deletion
46. A Special General Meeting may be called at any time by the Council or at the written request of at least four ordinary members of the Association who shall state the nature of the business they desire to be discussed.
a. Where possible notice of a Special General Meeting should follow the process of notice for a General Meeting but may be reduced as necessary at the discretion of the Council or as part of the written request for such a meeting.
47. Twenty-four of the ordinary members of the Association shall constitute a quorum at any General Meeting.
48. If after thirty minutes (or such longer time as may be agreed by those members present) from the time appointed for the meeting such quorum is not present, the meeting shall stand adjourned to the same in the following week and at the same time and place unless the President shall direct otherwise if at such adjourned meeting a quorum is not present, those persons present shall be deemed to form a quorum.
49. General Meetings shall be presided over by the President or, in his absence, the First Vice-President or, in his absence the Second Vice-President or in his absence, some member of the Council chosen by those present. The officer presiding shall have an original and a casting vote.
50. Voting at all General Meetings shall be by show of hands, unless a majority of the members present and voting decide that voting on any matter shall be by ballot.
a. Votes on members of Council shall be by ballot or by acclimation.
51. Activities, motions and decisions of the General Meeting shall be governed by the usual and accepted rules of order.
52. Members may, in writing, register, by self or via their Liaison Officer, with the Assistant
Secretary their vote for any motion, including electing members to Council, contained on the agenda of a General Meeting as contained in the 14 day notification.
53. A written vote shall be in the following form:
THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CIVIL SERVICE ASSOCIATION
I, _________________________ of __________________________ being a member of the above-named Association, hereby register my ballot for the (Regular or Special, as the case may be) General Meeting of the Association to be held on the _________ day of ____________ 20___, and at any adjournment thereof.
____________________________________ Signature of Member
Signed this ________ day of _______________ 20___.
My vote (either for or against) is as follows for the following motion(s):
A) ___________________________________________________________ For / Against
B) ___________________________________________________________ For / Against
C) ___________________________________________________________ For / Against
54. The proceedings of the first Regular General Meeting of the year shall be circulated with notice of the meeting, either in whole or by way of reference to the location of the relevant documents in a physical or electronic form generally and easily accessible to members, and shall include:
a. a report on the work done by the Association during the preceding year;
b. written report of Committees;
c. presentation of the Treasurer’s report on the accounts of the last calendar year;
d. election of officers and members of the Council;
e. any business of which the Secretary has received 21 days notice;
f. any other business which in the opinion of the presiding Chairman properly arises out of any of the above.
g. in addition to members of the association, Public Servants and Public Service Pensioners are eligible to attend a general meeting as observers, however only association members are allowed to participate in open discussion and voting.
55. A hard copy of the Association’s report and the financial statement shall be furnished upon request to any member of the Association.
56. Within three months of the first Regular General Meeting of the year notice shall be
given by the Council either by advertisement, circular or electronic mail of a draft work plan and budget for the Association for the upcoming year. These are to be ratified or amended by the membership at the second general meeting of the year as they see fit.
57. Draft Minutes shall be published within three months of any General Meeting, to be ratified at the next General Meeting.
Financial Arrangements of the Association
58. The financial year of the Association shall be from the 1st day of January to the 31st day of December.
59. Externally audited accounts of the Association for a given year shall be submitted to the next General Meeting of the association after they are completed.
60. The funds of the Association shall be administered by the Treasurer acting under the instruction of the Council. The funds of the Association which are not required for current expenses shall be invested, as the Council may think fit, in the name of the Association.
61. The Bankers of the Association shall be the recognized Bank approved by the Council.
All deposits shall be made in the name of the Association. Withdrawals for current expenses shall be made on the joint signatures of the President or, in his absence, one of the Vice-Presidents, and the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer.
62. The Association in general session may make levies in addition to the subscription if, and when, deemed necessary.
INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTION
63. The Council shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of the Constitution of the Association and may give rulings on any matter on which the Rules are silent.
AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION
64. The Constitution of the Association may be amended, added to or repealed by resolution at any Regular or Special General Meeting of the Association, provided that notice of motion so to do shall be given at the meeting prior to that at which the vote is to be taken, and that no such resolution shall be deemed to have passed unless it shall be carried by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members voting theron.
MEMBERS TO HAVE CONSTITUTION
65. Each member shall be entitled to a copy of the rules of the Association upon payment to the Secretary of a price to be fixed by the Management Council not exceeding one dollar (CI $1.00).
DISSOLUTION AND AFFILIATION
66. The Association may not be dissolved and its funds divided except with the consent of not less than five-sixth of the members voting in a ballot at a General Meeting.
67. Affiliation to another organization shall be subject to the agreement of not less than two-thirds of the members voting in a ballot at a General Meeting.
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