Amicus

:For the legal term, see Amicus curiae. For the film company, see Amicus Productions.

Organisation

The supreme decision-making body of Amicus is its Policy Conference which convenes every two years. At other times, the National Executive Committee is responsible for governance of the union.

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Amicus is primarily a sector-based union. The industrial sectors are responsible for electing the majority of National Executive Committee members, and have the right to submit the majority of motions to the Policy and Rules Conferences. The remainder of NEC positions are regional and women's seats.

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Amicus has 12 regions - Scotland, Wales, and the island of Ireland together with nine English regions corresponding to the British government's Regional Development Agencies. Each region has a Regional Council which meets every two months and is composed of about 35 delegates, elected by regional Sector, Women's, Equalities and Branch Conferences.

Related Topics:
Scotland - Wales - Ireland - English - Regional Development Agencies

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An Amicus region typically contains several hundred branches, each of which represent a smaller group of members, running local campaigns on their behalf and providing a means for members to socialise with one another and increase their involvement in Amicus and the wider union movement. Branches are typically organised on a workplace, geographical or sectoral basis, and vary in size from a few dozen to several thousand members. One reason for the wide variation in branch size and type is that, during the numerous union mergers which have culminated in the formation of Amicus, branches were often not forced to merge. For this reason many branches are still based on the structures that existed in long-disappeared unions such as TASS. Some branches are inactive, for example because the workplace they represented no longer exists. As of 2005, Amicus is currently contemplating a wholesale reorganisation of branches, primarily intended to close inactive branches or merge them with neighbouring ones which are more active. Not surprisingly this reorganisation is of some concern to branch activists, and many neighbouring branches have voluntarily merged to pre-empt any action from the centre. Other branches, for example those in the voluntary sector, are by their nature small, and have made representations to the NEC and the General Secretary in which they point out that a small branch is not necessarily an inactive one.

Related Topics:
TASS - 2005

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The sectoral nature of Amicus contrasts with MSF where branches and regions held the majority of control and where branches were entitled to directly elect delegates to national policy and rules conferences. In Amicus, all conference delegates must be elected by a National Sector, Women's or Equalities Conference or a Regional Branch Conference.

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In general, committees of the union from branch level upwards must be composed of lay members elected by the group of members they represent, as per MSF custom and practice. A notable exception is for the secretary of a regional or national committee, who is usually a Full-Time Officer employed by the union. However, within the AEEU, branches were often chaired by Officers.

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As a general rule any candidate for a position on a committee of the union must also be a workplace representative, in order to retain the connection with workplaces. However retired members may hold branch positions with the NEC's consent. An further exception is made for the equalities committees where a committee member is expected to be in employment but need not be a representative.

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Amicus conferences are organised on a two-yearly cycle with national Policy Conferences taking place in odd-numbered years, and sectoral, national equality and regional branch conferences being held in the intervening years. This differs with MSF and AEEU arrangements where national conferences took place on an annual basis. Similarly, Regional Councils meet every two months as opposed to monthly under MSF.

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The first and only Rules Conference of Amicus took place in 2005. The next Rules Conference is planned to take place in 2009. However, if a merger with another large union results in a new rule book, that conference is unlikely to take place as scheduled.

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