Extraordinary General Meeting – 8 September 2009
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Extraordinary General Meeting – 8 September 2009
You should have received Notice of the above meeting at which it is proposed to change certain aspects of the Constitution of the BSJA. It is clear from the many discussions that I have had with members that the proposed changes have sparked a great deal of interest. However there also seems to be some confusion as to exactly what these changes mean, particularly the position of payment to members of the Association for the provision of services to the Association. Therefore, I thought it might be helpful for me to further explain the proposed changes and the practical implications. It is important to understand what the current Constitution provides and the following points are particularly relevant.
Currently:-
- A member of the Association can be paid for services rendered to the Association
- A member of the Association cannot be paid for, or in connection with the provision of services to the Association in his of her capacity as a member of the Executive Board or any other decision making body, such as one of the standing committees.
- Board members can be paid for providing other services to the Association, and indeed this happens.
- Decisions relating to payments to members and/or board members fall under the powers of the Management Board, not the Executive Board.
The proposed changes to the Constitution and, in particular clause 4 include the following:-
1 The BSJA can pay members for the provision of services whether
they are members of the Executive Board or other decision makingbodies.
2 The changes give the power of making such decisions directly to
the Executive Board as opposed to the Management Board. In particular a proposed new clause 4(g) specifically provides that payment to a member of the Association is subject to the prior agreement of the decision making body of the Association to whom the responsibility for such matters has been delegated by the Executive Board.
The Executive Board has already discussed and agreed the setting up of a Committee which will be appointed by and answerable to the Executive Board. The new Committee would make decisions upon the forms and amounts of remuneration and there is also general agreement amongst the Executive Board that it is appropriate for the majority of the members of this new Committee to be independent of the Executive Board. The effect of this change is to give far greater transparency about payments made by the Association to its members and to introduce a level of independence in the decision making process which has not been seen previously.
It is not intended to make payments to members of the Association unless they are providing services of genuine value to the Association and which, for whatever reason are not available from a salaried member of staff.
The proposed changes to the Constitution are essential if we are to progress the BSJA as a professional organisation, ensure consistency of decision-making and enable the monitoring and review of the application of the remuneration rules. We will then be able to achieve even greater successes for the sport and its members through the best use of the dedication, skills, knowledge and experience at all levels in our staffing and corporate governance structure.
I hope the explanations set out in this letter are of assistance and I urge all members to exercise their democratic right to vote and, if possible attend the Extraordinary General Meeting on 8th September.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Cornish
Chief Executive