ATGWU

Constitution

1.     The organisation shall be known as Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union of Uganda (ATGWU) here in after referred toas ''the Union''.

2.     The registered Headquarter offices of the Union shall be situated at Kampala, Uganda or at any such other place as the National Executive Council of the Union shall decide.

 ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVES

 1.     The Union shall aim at achieving the following objectives:

 (a)  To secure and maintain complete organisation into the Union of all workers eligible for membership.

 (b)  To secure, improve upon and maintain just rates of wages and other terms and conditions of service/employment for its membership.

 (c)  To regulate and improve relationship and settle disputes between its members and their employers; between one member and another; and between its members and other workers.

 (d)  To provide legal assistance to its members, in pursuit of their rights and/or in furtherance of their interests.

 (e)  To promote social, material and educational welfare and facilities for its members and ensure that social justice prevails in the industries.

 (f)   To provide financial assistance to its members who may be in need of it arising out of industrial disputes.

 (g)  To co-operate with other organisations pursuing similar objectives in order to promote and safeguard the interests and rights of members.  This shall be achieved by, where necessary, affiliating with such organisations, be they within or outside Uganda.

 (h)  To promote affirmative action and protect the right to equal treatment with dignity and respect, so as to enable the Union to benefit from all its human resource irrespective of race, sex, age, creed, political ideology or affiliation.

 ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

 1.   Membership of the union shall be open, without discrimination to all workers employed in:

a)     Road transport.

b)     Aviation industry.

c)     Clearing and forwarding agencies and companies.

d)     Tour operators and travel agencies/bureaux.

e)     Petroleum and chemical industries including petrol and gas          service stations.

f)       Private security industry

g)     Property maintenance services

h)     General workers in support services as shall be determined by the Executive council of the Union.

 2.   Application to the Union for membership shall be addressed to the General Secretary.  In the event of a merger or amalgamation with any other Union, membership shall automatically be continued into the resultant Union without any interruption.

3.   A non-transferable membership card shall be issued to a member on payment of a membership fee to be determined by the Executive Council.  This card shall serve as an identification of a member at all union meetings and whenever need arises.

4.   A monthly contribution as membership dues of an amount to be determined by the Executive Council shall be paid by each member and remitted to the Union Headquarters.

 5.   The General Secretary shall maintain a current register of all members of the Union.

6.     Honorary membership of the Union may be extended to any person who, in the opinion of a Delegates Conference, has rendered or continues to render valuable services to the Union but does not qualify for normal membership as above.  Any member of the Union is free to nominate a person for honorary membership, giving reasons.

 ARTICLE IV - DELEGATES CONFERENCES

 1.     The supreme authority in the running of the affairs of the Union shall be vested in the Delegates Conference (DC).  There shall be three types of delegates conferences, namely:

a)        The Quinquennial Delegates Conference (QDC)

b)       The Annual Delegates Conference (ADC)

c)        The Extraordinary Delegates Conference (EDC)

2.     The QDC shall be held once every five years and shall, in addition to transacting normal DC business, carry out election of the Union office bearers.

3.     The ADC shall be held annually to transact normal delegates conference business.

 4.   The General Secretary shall convene an EDC after receipt by of a written request by at least one tenth of the members of the Union or at the request of the National Executive Council of the Union.

 5.   Notice for a QDC or ADC shall be at least 30 days while that for the EDC shall be 14 days.

 6.   Quorum for the QDC and ADC shall be 2/3 of the invited delegates. The quorum for an EDC shall be same as above except that, if after one week's postponement the required quorum is not realised within thirty minutes of the time when the meeting was due to begin, any number of invited delegates present shall form a quorum.

7.     A DC shall consist of all office bearers, members of the Executive council and other delegates as follows:

a)        Up to 100 members ...................................One delegate

b)       101 to 300 members ...................................Two delegates

c)        301 to 700 members ...................................Three delegates

d)       701 to 1000 members...................................Four delegates

e)        1001 members and above……………………………..Five delegates

 8.   Names of delegates to attend a delegates’ conference must be submitted to reach the General Secretary at least 14 days before the date of the conference.

 9.   Resolutions, motions and amendments to the constitution that are intended for discussion at a delegates’ conference must be submitted to the General Secretary at least 14 days from the day of the conference.

 10.The General Secretary shall prepare the Agenda for the DC including all resolutions, motions and proposed constitution amendments that are received by him/her and circulate them to the nominated delegates at least one week before the conference.

 11.Except when amending the Constitution where two thirds (2/3) majority of the present members shall be required, other issues at a delegates’ conference shall be determined by simple majority of the delegates present.  Voting during the election of officials of the Union shall be by secret ballots.  Other issues shall be decided upon by show of hands unless the members present decide that a particular issue should be decided by a secret ballot.

 ARTICLE V – NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

1.     There shall be a National Executive Council (NEC) of the Union, which shall be next in administrative authority to the DC. It shall be charged with the responsibility of implementing the resolutions and directives of the DC and of managing the affairs of the Union.

2.     NEC shall consist of the following members, of which at least a third (1/3) shall be women.

a)        National Chairperson

b)       National Vice Chairperson

c)        General Secretary

d)       Section Secretaries

e)        National Treasurer

f)         Woman Representative

g)        Youth Representative

h)        Representative to NOTU

i)          Three Trustees

j)         Up to four co-opted members

3.     NEC officials, other than the co-opted members, shall be elected at the Quinquennial Delegates Conference and shall serve for a period of five years at the pleasure of the Union. NEC members shall be eligible for re-election.

4.     NEC shall co-opt up to four members to the Council, to ensure a fair representation of the various industrial sections and gender composition.

5.     NEC shall be empowered to suspend any officer, trustee or member of NEC and suspend or dismiss other employees of the Union that shall have contravened the provisions of the constitution or for any other reason deemed good and sufficient in the interest of the Union. The person so suspended or removed from service shall have the right to appeal to an EDC or the ADC/QDC whichever shall be earlier. The decision taken by such a conference shall be final.

6.     NEC shall meet at least two times a year and half the membership of the council shall form a quorum. A simple majority of members present shall decide issues at the Council meeting.

7.     Notice for an ordinary NEC meeting shall be at least 14 days while that for an extraordinary NEC meeting shall be 7 days.

8.     NEC shall give instructions to all officers of the Union with regard to the conduct of Union business.

9.     NEC may appoint sub committees and ad-hoc committees from among the Council members or any other Union members to deal with specific issues.

10.  In the event where a committee so appointed fails to meet twice due to any cause whatever, the General Secretary shall convene a meeting of the Secretariat in order to deal with the issue(s) in question. Where this proves impossible the General Secretary shall convene a NEC meeting.

ARTICLE VI - THE SECRETARIAT

1.   There shall be a Secretariat of the Union at the Union Headquarters headed by the General Secretary and composed of the following members:

a)     The National Chairperson

b)     The General Secretary

c)     The National Treasurer

d)     The Section Secretaries

e)     The Woman Representative

f)       The Youth Representative

2.   The Secretariat shall be responsible for proper administration of Union affairs and the implementation of decisions passed by other Union organs.  It shall act as an advisory organ to NEC in all Union matters.

ARTICLE VII - DUTIES AND PRESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICIALS

1.   National Chairperson and Vice National Chairperson

(a) The National Chairperson shall preside over all meetings of the Union organs - DC, NEC and the Secretariat.  He/she shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the meetings and in case of a tie in voting; he/she shall have a second or casting vote.  He/she shall sign minutes of meetings together with the General Secretary.

(b)  The National Chairperson shall, in conjunction with the General Secretary, superintend the general administration of the affairs of the Union.  He/she shall ensure that all members observe the constitution and all rules of the Union.

(c)  The National Chairperson shall protect the interests of the Union and if the General Secretary is found not to be performing his/her duties properly, the National Chairperson shall cause NEC to meet to consider the issue and take appropriate action.

(d)     The National Vice Chairperson shall assist the National Chairperson in the discharge of duties of that office and shall act for the National Chairperson during his/her absence.

(e)  If at a meeting that has been convened in accordance with the provisions of this constitution and both the National Chairperson and the National Vice Chairpersons are not present after a quorum has been realised, the meeting shall appoint one from among those present to preside over that meeting.

 2.   General Secretary

 (a)   The General Secretary shall be the full-time Chief Executive Officer and main spokesman of the Union.  He/she shall be in charge of all employees of the Union and shall be responsible to NEC for the proper and efficient running of the Union.

(b)  The General Secretary shall be the chief accounting officer of the Union and shall be responsible for all funds received and expended by the Union.  He/she shall prepare and submit to NEC budgets of income and expenditure of the Union funds for approval.

(c)   The General Secretary shall be responsible for convening of meetings and shall attend the meetings and keep records of the proceedings.  He shall be a member of all committees set up as contained in this constitution, unless the organ setting up a particular committee stipulates otherwise.

(d)  The General Secretary shall represent the Union at the NOTU Central Governing Council (CGC).

3.     National Treasurer

 (a)   The National Treasurer shall be responsible for the proper keeping of the Unions accounts and shall produce such books and documents as NEC may require.  He/She shall submit to the Union governing organs proper accounts of income and expenditure with such reports and comments as he/she may judge necessary or may be requested.

 4.     Section Secretaries

(a)   Industrial Section Secretaries shall be full-time employees and shall be responsible for organising, recruitment and mobilisation of members and shall, in consultation with the Education Secretary, plan for and carry out the members’ education in branches and firms in their respective sections. They will organise and supervise elections of shop stewards in those branches/industries.

(b)  The Education Section Secretary shall be a full-time employee and shall be responsible for planning and carrying out information, education and training activities of the Union.

5.     Trustees

(a)   Three Trustees shall be elected at the QDC and shall hold office for a period of five years at the pleasure of the Union.  Trustees must be members of the Union. However, the conference may appoint a commercial bank as one of the three trustees.

(b)  The three Trustees, for the time being in office, shall have vested in them all the property belonging to the Union and shall deal with it in such a way, as NEC shall direct.

(c)   In the event of death, resignation or removal of a trustee due to his becoming unable to properly perform his/her duties, NEC shall fill the vacant office.

 6.     Woman Representative

(a)     The Woman Representative shall be elected at the QDC and shall coordinate all women activities in the Union.

7.     Youth Representative

(a)    The Youth Representative shall be elected at the QDC and shall coordinate all youth activities in the Union.

8.     Permanent Representative To NOTU

(a)   The Permanent Representative to NOTU shall be elected at the Delegates Conference and shall represent the Union at the NOTU CGC.

 ARTICLE VIII – FINANCES & FINANCIAL INSTRUCTIONS 

 1.     The Union shall derive funds from any of the following sources:

(a)   Membership fees and monthly contributions from its members

(b)  Sale of property of the Union

(c)   Investments in any lawful ventures as shall be determined by NEC

(d)  Donations from other organisations and individuals approved by NEC

(e)   Any special levies as NEC may from time to time set

2.     The Union funds may be used for any of the following:

(a)   Payment of salaries, wages and allowances of Union officials and employees

(b)  Payment of administrative expenses of the Union such as rent, stationery etc.

(c)   Solving of trade disputes involving the Union or its members

(d)  Compensation of members for loss arising out of trade disputes

(e)   Investment in viable ventures approved by NEC

(f)    Any other expenditure approved by NEC

3.     All monies received by the Union must be properly receipted and deposited on the Union bank account.

4.     All cheques issued by the Union shall bear at least two signatures 

(a)   The Union accounts shall have the following signatories:

i.        The National Treasurer

ii.      The National Chairperson 

iii.     The General Secretary

(b)  All cheques shall bear the National Treasurer’s signature. However, where circumstances warrant, NEC shall authorise any Union officer, including the Trustees, to be signatory in place of any of the three signatories.

5.     NEC shall appoint External auditors to audit the accounts of the Union. The auditors shall have access to all documents, books and accounts of the Union.

6.     Any officer or member of the Union who misuses or withholds money or property belonging to the Union without justifiable reasons will be liable to disciplinary action including prosecution in the courts of law.

7.      The financial year of the Union shall be from 1^st Jan – 31^st December.

ARTICLE IX – BRANCHES

1.     Branches shall be formed on industry basis.  Where the number and leadership capacity of members in an industry or firm justifies formation of a branch, such an industry or firm shall be allowed to form a branch of the Union.

2.     Each branch shall be governed by a Branch Executive Committee (BEC) consisting of the Branch Chairperson, the Branch Secretary, Branch Treasurer, Branch Organising Secretary, Branch Woman Representative and three other members elected at Branch General meeting of members.  The committee shall serve for three years and all committee officers and members shall be eligible for re-election.

3.     NEC shall determine the formation of any branch of the Union.

4.     In as far as running of the branch is concerned; duties and responsibilities of branch officers shall be similar to those of the national Union officers.

5.     The branch executive committee shall meet as often as necessary to transact business of the Union branch but shall meet at least once every two months. A quorum of five members shall be required for such meetings.

6.     The Union Headquarters shall remit 10% of the contributions of members of the branch back to the branch. These funds shall assist the branch in meeting some organisational and administrative expenses. The branch shall account for all monies so remitted on a yearly basis. The BEC may raise additional funds from its members for the purpose of development of branch facilities or for any other purposes as shall be agreed upon by the members at the General meeting. BEC shall notify the Union Headquarters of such a decision.

7.     NEC may suspend the BEC or the entire membership of a branch for failure to carry out instructions of NEC or DC. After such suspension the matter shall be referred to the DC for resolution.

ARTICLE X – SHOP STEWARDS AND SHOP STEWARDS COUNCIL

1.     The shop steward shall be the Union’s representative at the lowest level in the workplace and shall be elected by members in a workplace and hold office for three years. 

2.     There shall be a Shop Stewards’ Council (SSC) composed of all shop stewards in the workplace and shall meet at least once a month to transact its business.

3.     The SSC shall elect from among itself a Chief Shop steward, Assistant Chief Shop Steward, Treasurer and Secretary.

4.     At least three days’ notice shall be given for a SSC meeting.

5.     A copy of the minutes of SSC meeting shall be made available to the General Secretary of the Union.

6.     Operations of the SSC shall be in conformity with the requirements of the Shop stewards’ Manual 

ARTICLE XI – STRIKES

1.     In the event of any trade disputes arising, the members concerned shall make the same known to the General Secretary who shall immediately report the same to NEC.  There shall be no cessation of work or any threat to do without the strike action has been sanctioned by NEC.

2.     NEC shall sanction strike action taking into consideration the national laws governing the settlement of trade disputes. A secret ballot shall be conducted and a two third (2/3) majority vote shall be the minimum requirement for sanctioning a strike action.

 ARTICLE XII – DISSOLUTION

 1.     The Union shall only be dissolved after a secret ballot has been conducted and at least two-thirds majority of voters present at a DC is obtained in favour of the dissolution motion.

2.     Following the dissolution of the Union all debts and liabilities legally incurred by the Union shall be fully discharged and the remaining funds/assets of the Union divided amongst the members.

ARTICLE XIII – AMENDMENTS AND ALTERATIONS

Alterations and Amendments to this Constitution shall only be made by a resolution voted upon at a DC. All proposals for amendments shall be submitted to the General Secretary not later than 30 days before the date of conference.

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