You are:

Principal rules

Objects

PR1 The Union's Objects shall be to:

(a) Protect and promote the interests of its members.

(b) Regulate relations between members and their employers, and improve members' employment conditions and promotion prospects.

(c) Provide benefits and services for its members and employees, and for other persons.

(d) Provide financial and other help to members, former members (including former members of antecedent unions), and dependants of deceased members, who are in need.

(e) Maintain the effectiveness and professional status of the services in which members are employed.

(f) To promote equality for all:

 (i) Through collective bargaining, publicity material and campaigning, representation, union organisation, and structures, education and training, organising and recruitment, the provision of all other services and benefits and all other activities including the union’s
employment practices and

 (ii) By opposing actively, all forms of harassment, prejudice and unfair treatment whether on the grounds of sex, race, ethnic or national origin, religion, colour, class, caring responsibilities, marital status, sexuality, disability, age or other status or personal
characteristic.

(g) Promote the educational and cultural well-being of members.

(h) Promote the most effective available trade union structure for the representation of employees in public and commercial services.

(i) Co-operate with TUC unions to protect the interests of working people generally.

(j) Do anything which the National Executive Committee ("NEC") considers incidental or conducive to achieving any of the above Objects.

Policies of the union

PR2 Delegate Conference shall be the principal policy-making body of the Union, and shall determine the policies of the Union, subject to the following:

(a) Between Delegate Conferences, the NEC shall have discretion to determine the policy of the Union on any matter, consistent with the policies established by Delegate Conference or by the overriding authority of a membership ballot.

(b) On any matter which the NEC considers to be an issue of major policy, the NEC may hold a membership ballot under these Principal Rules, and the result of such a ballot shall where appropriate prevail over any decision taken by any body or unit of the Union.

Branches

PR3 Branch officers and other Branch Executive Committee ("BEC") members (other than local or senior representatives) shall be elected by secret, individual ballot of the members in the Branch.

PR4 Local (or senior) representatives shall be elected by means of secret, individual voting by the members within the constituency (or constituencies) concerned.

Representational structure

PR5 The election of Group Executive Committees ("GECs") shall be conducted on the same basis as that laid down for membership ballots under these Principal Rules.

PR6 Where either (a) the NEC; or (b) the relevant Group Executive Committee; or (c) the relevant body of the Union designated by the NEC as responsible for the conduct of negotiations with an employer, considers that an employer is proposing a major change in members' terms and conditions of employment, that change shall not be endorsed by the Union except with the support of the members concerned as determined by a majority of those voting in a ballot
conducted on the same basis as that laid down for membership ballots under these Principal Rules.

Delegate conference

PR7 A Delegate Conference (other than Special Delegate Conferences) shall be held annually.

National executive committee

PR8 The management and control of the Union, and the handling of its whole affairs, shall be vested in the National Executive Committee ("NEC"). The NEC shall conduct its affairs in accordance with: (a) the Rules of the Union; and (b) the policies determined by Delegate Conference or by membership ballot.

PR9 The NEC shall be elected annually. NEC elections shall be conducted on the same basis as that laid down for membership ballots under these Principal Rules, except that the General Secretary shall, after consulting the Independent Scrutineer, issue regulations for the conduct of the elections which shall be published to Branches and be binding on all members.

PR10 Industrial action shall only be authorised or endorsed by the Union following a membership ballot of the members concerned under these Principal Rules in which a majority of those voting vote in favour of such action.

PR10A (a) The NEC shall consist of the President, Deputy President, three Vice-Presidents together referred to as the Senior Lay Officers and 30 ordinary members, in each case elected by a ballot of the whole membership, and any Senior Full-Time Officer elected in accordance with principal rule PR11.

(b) There shall be an election for President by a ballot of the whole membership.

(c) There shall be an election for Deputy and Vice-Presidents by a ballot of the whole membership. The candidate securing the highest number of votes shall be elected Deputy President and the three candidates securing the next highest number of votes shall be
elected Vice-Presidents. If, but for this rule, more than one member employed by a particular employer would be elected as Deputy or Vice-President in the same election, the candidate or candidates with the lower or lowest votes of such members shall be displaced by the
member or members with the highest votes employed by an employer who does not employ any of the members otherwise elected as Deputy or Vice-President in that election, so that each Deputy and Vice-President shall be a member employed by a different employer.

(d) There shall be a Senior Vice-President who shall be the Vice-President elected in accordance with

(c) above who has the longest continuous service as a Senior Lay
Officer/Vice-President or, in the event of an equality of such service, who has the longest aggregate service, whether or not continuous, on the NEC and/or on the national executive body of the union’s antecedents (whether as a Senior Lay Officer or otherwise).

(e) There shall be an election for ordinary members of the NEC by a ballot of the whole membership.

(f) If, but for this rule, fewer than two seats for ordinary members of the NEC would be filled by a member who on being nominated identified themselves as being from a black racial group, the highest polling member or members who did so identify themselves shall displace the member or members with fewest votes (out of those who would otherwise have been elected) who did not so identify themselves (only if such replacement member or members is available).

(g) If, but for this rule and after the application of paragraphs (f) above, 9 or more seats for ordinary members of the NEC would be filled by members employed by the same employer,the highest polling member or members from other employers shall displace the member or members with fewest votes (out of those who would otherwise be elected), but only if such replacement member or members is available, so that the number of ordinary members who are employed by the same employer does not exceed 8, save that this rule shall not operate so as to reduce below two the number of seats filled by members who on being nominated identified themselves as being from a black racial group.

(h) This principal rule shall prevail over any provisions in the supplementary rules and, in particular, over supplementary rules 7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6 and 7.8. #

Senior full time officers

PR11 The Senior Full Time Officers shall consist of a General Secretary, a Deputy General Secretary and an Assistant General Secretary. The Assistant General Secretary shall also be the National Treasurer of the Union. The General Secretary and other Senior Full-Time Officers posts shall be filled by an election, conducted on the same basis as that laid down for membership ballots under these Principal Rules. The first elections for the Deputy General Secretary and the Assistant General Secretary shall be conducted in the spring of 2004. A person so elected shall serve for a period of five years, subject to not having reached their normal retirement date (as specified under their contract of employment). In the event of a
casual vacancy arising of any of the Senior Full-time Officers during their five-year term of office, the vacancy shall be filled by an election, conducted in accordance with this rule.

Rules of the union

PR12 The Union's Rules shall consist of the Principal Rules, the Supplementary Rules, and the Appendices thereto.

PR13 The Principal Rules shall be amended, deleted or added to only where any such amendment, deletion or addition has been approved by (a) not less than two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by delegates present at a Delegate Conference, or (b) not less than two-thirds of those present and voting at a meeting of the NEC; and, in either case, where it has thereafter been approved by a simple majority of those members voting in a membership ballot. Any such ballot shall be conducted in accordance with these Principal Rules. Where the NEC proposes to hold a membership ballot under this rule, it shall give sufficient notice thereof to allow prior consultation with Branches.

PR14 In the case of conflict between a principal rule and any other rule of the Union, the principal rule shall prevail.

PR15 Subject to principal rule PR14, the Supplementary Rules and Appendices A-B thereto shall not be amended except: (a) by a Delegate Conference (in order to be carried, a motion proposing an amendment shall require the support of not less than two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by delegates present, subject to supplementary rule 6.10 relating to card votes); or (b) by the National Executive Committee where it considers it necessary to accommodate the transfer of engagements, or the transfer of membership, of any other union to the Union; or (c) by the National Executive Committee in order to make or amend political fund rules and political fund ballot rules in accordance with statutory requirements.

Membership ballots

PR16 Subject to these principal rules, a membership ballot shall be held by the NEC: (a) at its discretion; or (b) where so requested by Delegate Conference; or (c) where so requested by Branches together representing a majority of the members of the Union(provided that such request has been endorsed at a properly constituted General Meeting of each Branch concerned, subject to supplementary rule 4.4). In any case where the NEC has been requested under this rule to hold a ballot, the ballot shall be completed by not later than six months after the date of the request.

PR17 Membership ballots shall be conducted on the basis that all eligible members: (a) have an equal entitlement to vote; and (so far as is reasonably practicable): (b) are given an equal opportunity to vote, which shall not be conditional on attendance at a meeting; and (c) are able to vote in secret. Elections for the NEC and for any Senior Full-time Officer post filled by election in accordance with principal rule PR11 shall, in addition to the foregoing provisions, be conducted so far as is reasonably practicable on the basis that those members entitled to vote shall: (a) be sent a voting paper by post; and (b) be given a convenient opportunity to vote by post.

PR18 Subject to these Principal Rules, the NEC may issue regulations for the conduct of any membership ballot. Such regulations shall be published to Branches and shall be binding on all members. In any ballot on policy or an amendment to the rules (where, and only where, the NEC is asking members to reject a motion carried by Delegate Conference), the following provisions shall apply:

(a) The ballot paper shall include the text of the policy motion or rule amendment carried by Conference, a note stating that it was carried by Conference, and the question which shall ask if the member agrees with the policy or rule amendment.

(b) There shall be included with the ballot paper two A4 sheets of paper putting the arguments for and against the proposal. One shall be prepared by the NEC, and the other by the Branch which proposed the motion at Conference. Both shall contain only the PCS logo, the text on one or both sides at the author’s discretion, and a bold heading YES (for the Conference motion) or NO (against the Conference motion) as appropriate.

(c) No other National or Group publications, leaflets or circulars, including the PCS magazine and Group Journals, shall contain any material arguing for or against the motion in question until after the ballot has closed.

Dissolution

PR19 A Delegate Conference may, by a two-thirds majority of delegates present, pass a resolution to dissolve the Union. If such a resolution is carried, a resolution shall be taken as to the disposition of all residual assets, including the appointment of a person(s) to carry out the dissolution and deal with any consequential matters. The resolutions shall be put to all members in a membership ballot, and both shall require a two-thirds majority of those voting in order for the dissolution to proceed.

PCS rules (Word format)

  PCS rules