Professional Groups and Associations - Amicus Health Sector

National Professional Committee Structures

This paper describes the national professional committee structure to be adopted by the professional groups and associations within the Amicus Health Sector pending ratification by the National Executive Committee (NEC).

Introduction

On January 1^st. 2004, the Amicus union was formally launched, marking the de facto merger of the AEEU and MSF. This merger proceeded following the vote in favour for the union rulebook in 2004 – the culmination of a great deal of consultation, dialogue and deliberation.

Within the health sector we have reviewed the professional groups and associations whilst implementing the governing rules of the union. A key element has been to consider how professional groups and associations within Amicus form a visible and integrated part of the union whilst continuing to maintain their integrity and vital function as a locus of professional activity for their members.

Under Amicus rule 14.2 the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the union authorised the General Secretary – Derek Simpson – to review the organisational systems and structures of the groups within the union. Within the health sector, Mark Jones (National Officer for Professional Practice and Policy) and Gail Cartmail (Head of Health) were asked to review the professional groups and associations within the sector.

In addition to the review enacted through rule 14.2, the General Secretary has determined that the provisions within rule 11.13 (alternative structures) provide a basis for presenting the NEC with a proposal for the operation of professional groups and associations at national level.

What is the basis to these structures?

A series of meetings with the senior management team of Amicus have agreed the following:

·         The names and badges used by the professional groups and associations within Amicus will continue to be used to describe the professional focus of the respective groups of members.

·         The professional groups and associations will collectively form a professional section of Amicus, as part of the union’s health sector.

·         The professional groups and associations will continue to be responsible for deriving and forwarding the professional agenda of their members within Amicus.

·         The professional groups and associations will continue to be supported by a team of professional officers.

·         Amicus will financially support the professional activity of professional groups and associations within the health sector.

·         The potential for a national structure for the operation of professional groups and associations is supported by the Amicus rule book.

Representatives of all the professional groups and associations within the Amicus health sector have had discussions with Mark Jones and / or Gail Cartmail concerning their future within Amicus.

The next step is to build upon the success of the professional groups and associations through securing their ability to address professional issues within the Amicus Health Sector.

Next steps

The professional groups and associations within the health sector have a variety of structures and nomenclature associated with them. For example, the CPHVA section has a Chair and an Executive Committee, whereas the GHP and CHCC sections have Councils and a President fulfilling a similar role to that of a chair.

It is important that the professional groups and associations are able to both address the specific requirements of their membership and contribute to a common professional strategy for the Amicus Health sector. In order to facilitate this, a common structure has been agreed for all groups.

National Professional Committees

All professional groups and associations within the Amicus health sector will retain a national committee. So as to avoid confusion with other Amicus national committees, emphasise their professional activity, and facilitate inter-sectional working, these groups will be know as National Professional Committees (NPC).

The role of the NPC is to provide advice concerning the strategic direction of professional policy and practice for the membership of their section and for the Amicus health sector as a whole.

NPC systems and structures:

It is important that we retain links to local members so as their views can be obtained and emerging policy shared with them.

·         Each professional group or association will have a National Professional Committee (NPC) responsible for the co-ordination of professional activity of that group or association and acting as a source or professional advice and support to members and the union.

·         Each NPC will be made up of a core of 12 members representing the 12 geographical regions of Amicus.

·         A system will be in place whereby the members of a professional group or association within each Amicus region might nominate candidates for selection to the NPC.  If there is more than one candidate for a region an election will be held. The election process will be centrally managed by the union.

·         Members of each NPC will elect a Chair from the group. Should the chair feel unable to undertake the duties of that role and act as a regional representative, the region concerned will be able to nominate an additional representative.

·         There will be a facility for those ‘issue specific’ national committees, other than the national steering committee, currently operating within the structures of professional groups and associations to be represented on the NPC.

A professional group or association believing representation of a specific interest group having relevance at national level is required will able to co-opt an appropriate representative to their NPC. Numbers co-opted in this way must be reasonable and the process will involve consultation with Amicus health sector national officers.

·         Given the intrinsic link between ‘professional’ and ‘industrial / labour relations’ issues, the facility will be available for a national professional committee to have a representative of the relevant Occupational Advisory Committee in attendance at its meetings in a co-opted  capacity

·         Each NPC will meet four times a year. There will be a facility to combine two of these meetings into a two-day meeting of the NPC with an overnight stay.

That is, a group could choose to have four single day meetings per year, have two meetings including an overnight stay per year, or one meeting with an overnight stay and two single day meetings per year.

(Consideration will be given to the needs of members travelling long distances to meeting who may require an overnight stay as a matter of course).

·         Members attending meetings of their respective NPC will be able to claim reasonable expenses as per union rule.

Additional structures:

So as to determine the common professional practice and policy development agenda for the Amicus health sector, a new committee consisting of the Chairs of each NPC will be constituted.

This committee will be known as the National Professional Committee Co-ordinating Group – NPCCG.

The NPCCG will meet twice a year and have the responsibility for agreeing, co-ordinating, and pursuing the professional agenda of the Amicus health sector.

Implementation plan

The various professional groups and associations within the health sector are currently working to differing schedules relating to election of representatives to their committees, chairs of the groups, and so forth. 

One aim of the review is to bring terms of office for elected representatives into line with similar posts identified within the Amicus structure. This relates to a two-year term of office commencing in January of any given year.

Given the duration of the consultation process and the need for ratification by the NEC, it is unlikely that we will be in a position to commence an election process before the end of 2005.

The proposal is that all professional groups and associations will adopt the principles of the NPC structure during 2005.

Thereafter the election process for NPC members will commence in Spring 2006, with a view to committees being in place as soon as possible. Elected representatives would serve a slightly shorter term of office up to the end of 2007, with new committees elected to serve a full term of office from January 2008.

Interim arrangements during 2005:

·         Existing national committees will rationalise their membership to include 12 core members nominated by the Amicus regions plus any representative of committees operating at national level within the professional group or association.

·         The spokesperson, co-ordinator, or lead member for each existing national committee – be they called President, Chair, or whatever, will use the title of Chair in conducting the business of the NPC.

·         NPC members will continue in their current term of office until such a time as the election process establishes the committees anew from regional nominations, with a Chair selected by those committees to serve for a period of two years (see above).

Summary

The position of the professional groups and associations within Amicus health sector is secure. In fact, the implementation of the above plan will enable us to build upon current strengths and highlight both the individual and collective benefit of these groups to the union and its membership.

The application of a basic common structure across the professional groups and associations will enhance the clarity and transparency of our professional operation and reinforce the backing for this activity.

Mark Jones