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Rough Guide to Conference
Guide for new delegates (and old ones who were afraid
to ask), covering...
With up to 2,000 delegates and visitors, Conference can
be a daunting prospect, especially if you don't know what's
happening. But now you will, thanks to SiU's handy
guide.
Scotland Meeting
Monday sees the all Scotland delegates meeting to give
last minute information and discuss Scottish input. Other
regions and branches attend to lobby support for their
motions. It is also your chance to push your issues.
Monday 15 June 5.30pm Strathclyde Suite, Royal Concert
Hall. 2 Sauchiehall St Glasgow (top of Buchanan St)
Local Government Branches Meeting
5.00pm Saturday 13 June in UNISON House, 14 West Campbell
Street, Glasgow
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Seating Plan
There should be a seating plan in this pack. We traditionally
get at least one seat wrong - so if you find yourself sitting
on someone’s knee, it’s likely to be a mistake.
Credentials Bar Code
No this is not a secret sign to get a drink. Your credential
card has a bar code which will scan you in. You must wear
the card at all times. Wearing it at your waist is not
helpful to the scrutineers, will lead to delays and may
end up with more than you expected being scanned!
Conference Guide
This prints all motions submitted. It also has more detailed
useful information. You will also get a booklet with composite
motions, listed by letters of the alphabet (usually with
the numbers of the motions in brackets).
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Speaking, speakers lists, timings
Seats for speakers FOR and AGAINST are labelled at the
front. If in doubt, staff at the Rostrum Control will help.
In any case it is best to tell them you want to speak because
they will have a list - and with amendments it is not always
clear which seat you should be in. It also helps to speak
to the Scottish Regional Delegates first!
Speakers can speak only once in a debate (except for the
right of reply).
Movers get five minutes. However, Conference sometimes
reduces this. You will get warning to chainsaw all those
bits you loved dearly out of your speech. Subsequent speakers
get three minutes.
Always start your speech by giving your name and your branch.
HANDY HINT: Have a brief closing
remark ready in case you run out of time
Right of Reply
The mover of a motion is allowed a Right of Reply at the
end of the debate or before voting on an amendment (but
not both). This is a reply to points raised in the debate
and cannot be abused by introducing new stuff (although
many try it).
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Voting
Normally votes are taken by holding up bright coloured
cards and the President will decide whether a count is needed.
If it is close, or a major issue is involved, the chair
can call for a branch card vote. Delegates can also call
for a card vote but only if 10% of us shout out with voting
cards up immediately. If this is on an amendment, the debate
is suspended until the result is known.
Branch card votes are stamped with the voting entitlement
of your branch and with either FOR or AGAINST.
The correct number must be used for the particular vote.
Get a colleague to check it.
Procedure
Like any other formal meeting, Conference is run by a
series of rules. This often seems very bureaucratic but
the system ensures some semblance of order is kept. The
President chairs Conference and their ruling on any issue
is final.
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Handy Hints
Card Votes
If you split your vote, make sure the figures add up.
Get someone to check.
- make sure you’ve SIGNED it.
- and that the branch name is on it.
Get your photo in advance
- If you haven’t done it online, get your credential
photo in advance. Photo booths are few and far between.
Consideration
- We hope the Briefings will be of some use to you. But
for safety, do not leave papers on the floor.
- Don’t
leave mobile phones on.
- Don’t walk in front of the signers.
- Lots of people will be pushing papers at you as you
come to Conference. Not taking one does not make you
a bad person! If you took them all, you would be like
a walking rain-forest anyway.
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Blinkin’ lights and points of order
AND A RANGE OF OTHER HANDY HINTS
Timing for speeches is shown by lights on the rostrum
but even if you don’t notice the light, there is always
some bright spark who will shout ‘time’, usually when they’re
not agreeing with you.
It can be useful to have an ‘escape clause’ in your speech
to cut to so you can finish on a good note.
The lights mean....
Yellow: means the speaker has a minute to go.
Red: means ‘zip the lip’ now, and not after you’ve made
ten more points.
Green: means a point of order has been raised and will
be heard before the next speaker.
Points of Order
You can move ‘next business’, ‘adjournment’ or ‘private
session’ but the most used is ‘that the question be put’.
The President must put this to Conference and, if carried,
we go straight to the right of reply, and the vote on the
motion or amendment. (The chair can caution there has not
been enough debate.) This move is especially helpful when
there are a host of speakers fora motion and none against.
You can only move most points of order if you haven’t already
spoken in the debate.
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Did I just miss something?
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CONFERENCE MYSTERIES
After years of being caught out by jargon and sneaky procedural
wheezes, your SiU scoop brings you a rough guide to help
you out.
Standing Orders Committee (SOC)
Comprises reps elected by each Region (ours is Alison
Jaconellie) and three from the NEC who organise the order
of business, composites and so on. A report will be issued
each morning on the day’s business and probably future
business - this is really important to understanding what
is going on. Sometimes their rulings are challenged but
it rarely makes sense to do so since the committee reflects
Regions’ priorities.
NEC Positions
Most motions haven’t got a chance of being heard and will
be referred to the NEC, or somewhere. So it is worth looking
to see what position the NEC has taken on your motion.
Agenda and Priorities
The running order (you’ll get one at Conference) is set
after consultation with regions on priorities. Motions
are grouped into ‘themes’ to avoid duplication and the
risk of voting against what we’d voted for earlier (yes
we’ve done that before!).
Friday priorities
Come Friday (oh, come, come Friday), there is a chance
to re-prioritise your pet motion that was not reached.
On Wednesday or Thursday, we will circulate branches with
a form to pick their priorities for Friday afternoon. These
will be collated and go to the SOC which will set out a
Friday pm agenda that reflects Conference’s wishes. That
can be an eye-opener!
Emergency motions
Conference has to vote to hear emergency motions in the
first place (after the SOC has decided it is an emergency
and is relevant and competent). To qualify for an emergency,
it must have been impossible to submit the motion’s subject
matter before the deadline.
Composite
An amalgam of similar motions drawn together into one
motion that nobody likes! Not fair really, because many
composites do succeed in combining areas of agreement through
negotiation. You will get a composites booklet before Conference
and new ones issued throughout the week.
Suspending Standing Orders
A super wheeze (needing a two thirds majority) to get
an outside speaker up or do something that’s not on the
agenda. To be avoided in most cases because it cuts across
agreed priorities and of course stops Conference making
decisions.
Grouped Debates
Where a pile of similar motions and amendments are all
moved one after the other, there is an all-in debate and
we vote on them one after the other at the end.
Reference Back
Reports, such as the annual report or standing orders
report, are presented to conference for approval. If someone
is unhappy with part of the report they can ask for “reference
back”, meaning that committee or working group that prepared
the report should reconsider that section.
Remittance
When the NEC asks for a motion to be referred to them
for further clarification, elaboration, or investigation.
Scottish delegates
Lilian Macer and Stephen Smellie are this year’s Scottish
Regional delegates. They are there to help, especially
if you want to get into a debate - they’ll tell you how,
who to see, and if you’re not careful (or lucky), what
to say! Sincerely folks, they are an essential source of
advice, information and help.
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