Article 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
The current text contains the practical provisions implementing articles 23 (10), 37 and 38 of the Statutes, viz.:
Article 23 (10) (A Council function):
« to approve the membership and remits of sector delegations, to co-ordinate their work and to approve the agreements negotiated by them, taking due account of the opinion of the sector concerned; »
Article 36 (Composition of sectors):
« Members who have professional interests in common may form sectors ».
Article 37 (Functions of sectors) :
« The sectors shall submit their Rules of Procedure, which must be in conformity with the Association's Statutes and rules and regulations. Any decision taken by the Council may be the subject of an appeal to the Assembly by the sector concerned. This must be submitted within one-hundred-and-twenty days of notification of the decision. The Council's decision shall apply pending the outcome of the appeal.
The sectors shall propose a delegation for the Council to approve. This delegation shall be responsible for ensuring liaison between the sector concerned and the Council and, with the Council's approval, for representing the sector vis-à-vis third parties.
Article 2
DEFINITIONS
- «Agreement»: A framework agreement applicable to interpreters working in an agreement sector.
- «Agreement sector»: Any sector ruled by an agreement signed by one or more organisations and the Association, acting on behalf of the interpreters who work for these organisations.
- «Negotiating Delegation (ND)»: Delegation instructed to negotiate an agreement in an agreement sector, on behalf of the Association and to ensure its correct implementation.
- «Professional Delegation(PD) »: Delegation instructed by the ND to ensure the correct implementation of the agreement in the organisation concerned or in a given location.
- «Sectoral meeting »: Meeting of interpreters who work in an agreement sector:
- «Sub-sectoral meeting»: Meeting of interpreters who work in a part of an agreement sector:
- «IntersectoralAssembly»: Meeting of the Association members with an interest in the agreement sectors.
- «Standing Committee of the Agreement Sectors (SCAS)»: Forum for exchange of views and concertation between negotiating delegations.
Article 3
SETTING UP A SECTOR
1. Members of the Association who have professional interests in common that involve the possible negotiation of an agreement and who wish to set up a new sector shall submit a proposal to that effect to the Council.
2. The latter shall ask the President to inform all members of the Association and ask the President to convene a meeting open to all members who might have an interest in the proposed new sector in order to allow them to take a decision.
3. The decision to set up a new sector shall be notified to the Council, which shall consult the Private Market Sector and the Standing Committee of the agreement sectors. Provided no valid objections are raised, the Council shall then confirm the formation of the new sector.
Article 4
SECTORAL AND SUB-SECTORAL MEETINGS: CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION AND VOTING RIGHTS
1. All members of the Association, including candidates, are entitled to participate and vote in sectoral and sub-sectoral meetings.
2. (a) Pre-candidates of the Association as well as non-member interpreters who work in a given sector are entitled to participate in sectoral and sub-sectoral meetings.
(b) Each sector may grant them the right to vote by including a provision to this effect in its rules of procedure.
3. Each sector shall define voting rights and establish the supporting documents to be supplied in its rules of procedure.
4. Sectoral meetings shall be convened by the negotiating delegation. They may also be convened at any time by the Executive Secretary at the request of the President or of the Assembly.
5. Sub-sectoral meetings shall be convened by the negotiating delegation or by the professional delegation with the agreement of the negotiating delegation.
Article 5
NEGOTIATING DELEGATIONS
1. Each sector shall hold a sectoral meeting to elect its negotiating delegation from among members of the Association and to adopt the delegation's terms of reference in accordance with its rules of procedure.
2. The composition of the delegations, and any changes thereof, as well as their terms of reference shall be submitted to Council for approval. The Council may add further (non-elected) members of the Association to the elected delegation, as full members or as consultants.
3. The Executive Secretary shall inform all the parties to the agreement of the composition of the Association's delegation.
4. Unless the Council decides otherwise, the term of office of a negotiating delegation shall continue until the election of a new delegation by the sectoral meeting and approval of its membership by the Council.
5. The negotiating delegation shall report regularly to the sector and to Council.
6. When a delegation resigns, it shall convene a sectoral meeting for the purposes of electing a new delegation. It shall remain in office until the membership of the new delegation has been approved by the Council. The Bureau shall take all necessary measures in the event of a hiatus.
Article 6
PROFESSIONAL DELEGATIONS
1. Professional delegations shall comprise at least two interpreters of the agreement sector concerned, who work regularly for the organisation concerned or in a given location. Generally, they shall be members of the Association. The members of the Association shall never be in the minority in a professional delegation. In so far as possible, one member of the negotiating delegation shall be a member of the professional delegation.
2. Professional delegations shall be elected at a sectoral or a sub-sectoral meeting.
3. Negotiating delegations shall submit the composition of the professional delegation to Council for approval. The Executive Secretary shall inform the organisation concerned.
4. Professional delegations shall report regularly to the interpreters concerned and to the negotiating delegation.
5. Unless the Council decides otherwise, the term of office of a professional delegation shall continue until the composition of a new delegation is approved by Council, in accordance with paragraph 3 above.
6. When a professional delegation resigns, a sectoral or sub-sectoral meeting shall be duly convened for the purposes of electing a new delegation. The resigning delegation shall remain in office until the membership of the new delegation has been approved by the Council. The negotiating delegation shall take on all the duties of the professional delegation in the event of a hiatus.
Article 7
A. NEGOTIATION OF AGREEMENTS
1. Agreements shall include provisions governing conditions of employment and remuneration, working conditions, manning strengths, social security cover, etc. The provisions in the agreement may differ from those prescribed in the Association's Professional Standards.
2. When negotiations have been completed, the negotiating delegation shall publish the results of the negotiations and duly convene a sectoral meeting with sufficient notice. Once the results of the negotiations have been approved by the sectoral meeting, the draft agreement shall be submitted without delay to the Council.
3. The Council shall take a decision on the proposed agreement as soon as possible, through a written consultation if necessary, and no later than at its next session (with at least one month's notice).
4. When an agreement is approved and signed, it shall be made known to all the members of the Association and the non-member interpreters concerned. The full text shall be published on line.
B. MONITORING OF AGREEMENTS
1. The negotiating delegation shall be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the agreement, including any formal consultations, interpretation, review, disputes procedure, etc., in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
2. The negotiating delegation may delegate the tasks of monitoring the agreement and dealing with practical implementation problems other than those specified in paragraph 1 above to a professional delegation set up with a given organisation or in a given location.
Article 8
STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE AGREEMENT SECTORS
1. The task of the Standing Committee of the Agreement Sectors is to foster the exchange of views and concertation between negotiating delegations, to define a coherent Association policy in this field. Its task includes the organisation of training workshops for members of the negotiating delegations.
2. The Standing Committee of the Agreement Sectors shall comprise one representative from each negotiating delegation, appointed by each one from among its members, two observers representing the Permanents' Committee and the Private Market Sector respectively, and one coordinator elected by the Intersectoral Assembly and confirmed by the Council.
3. The Standing Committee of the Agreement Sectors shall hold an annual meeting and report on its activities to the Council.
Article 9
INTERSECTORAL ASSEMBLY
The Intersectoral Assembly is the forum of discussion and exchange of views for all Association members with an interest in the agreement sectors. It shall be convened by the Standing Committee of the Agreement Sectors every three years, in conjunction with the AIIC Assembly. It may also be convened at any time by the Executive Secretary at the request of the President or of the Assembly. The Intersectoral Assembly shall be chaired by the coordinator of the Standing Committee of the Agreement Sectors or by a Bureau member. It shall report to Council.
Article 10
AMENDMENT PROCEDURE
These Rules may be modified by a decision of the Council taken with a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, having consulted the sectors and the SCAS and, if appropriate, having sought a legal opinion on the proposals.
