Last Wednesday, the Labor Club executive met to decide how to deal with the Clubs Association’s (CA) demand that it rehold its Annual General Meeting (AGM, due to several members not receiving notice). This is a difficult request to meet. The Labor Club Constitution specifies that the AGM has to occur in the first term of the year. In order to hold another one, a Special General Meeting (SGM) has to be called to alter the constitution, after which the AGM can (re)occur.
I spoke to Paris Dean, the Labor Club Secretary, last Wednesday. I was somewhat suprised to discover that the Labor Club had decided to comply with the wishes of the CA. ‘The Labor Club’s had a look, it’s discovered an administrative error, and it wants to rectify it in the most inclusive manner possible. We just hope the CA will be a partner in this’, Paris said.
I asked if it was suitable to talk of partnership when the CA was holding a gun to their head. He didn’t rise to the bait. ‘That’s a thuggish way to describe the CA. I’d hope the CA doesn’t hold guns to anyone’s heads.’
The complaint against the Labor Club was made at the end of last term. It was passed from the Women’s Officer Ursula Menz (who deals with all grievances, not just those relating to women), to the CA President Matt Taylor. When Matt went on leave around two weeks ago, the issue was passed to CA Secretary Adam Rehn, briefly to Ash Brook (General Executive Member) before being thrown (I assume) back to Adam. None of this was the result of wrongdoing; I just wanted to point out how convoluted the process has been. The issue was further complicated by the fact that the Clubs Association operates under a copy of its 1985 Constitution, which does not give the CA the ability to place a club on notice. This ability is offered by a later constitution, under which the CA is not officially operating. The CA is working on a new constitution, a draft of which is to be presented at the next council meeting.
That said, Labor Club member Andrew Anson has few critiques of the way the CA has handled the matter. ‘I’m pleased the CA acted with complete autonomy and in accordance with the expectations of the clubs council’, he said. Andrew was one of several Labor Club members not notified of the AGM.
Council hasn’t met yet since Matt’s last ambiguous report on the matter. Given that I’m not (quite) narcissistic enough to believe the delegates read this blog, this (now resolved) issue will be news to most of them come Tuesday the 2nd.
*Correction: The Labor Club has called a meeting to ratify it's original AGM, and is not holding a new one unless the original fails to be ratified. My bad*
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