SOUTH
AFRICAN COLLIERY ENGINEERS' ASSOCIATION
Ground Floor, Chamber of Mines, 5 Hollard Street, Johannesburg, 2001
All correspondence to be addressed to the Secretary
P O Box 61703, Marshalltown, 2107
The
Constitution & Rules
(as revised and approved - FEBRUARY 2002)
Any reference
in the Constitution and rules, unless inconsistent with the
context, to words importing the masculine gender shall include
the feminine and vice versa ; words importing the singular
shall include the plural and vice versa.
1. The name of the
Association shall be "The South African Colliery Engineers' Association".
2. The Head
Office of the Association shall be at such place as may
be fixed by the Association from time to time.
OBJECTIVES
OF THE ASSOCIATION
3. To
uphold the status of the Engineering and Mining profession,
project its interest and provide for the mutual assistance
of members.
4. To promote
the general advancement of Engineering in its particular
application to the coal mining and associated industries
nationally and internationally.
5. To hold
meetings for the interchange of ideas and information
and for the discussion of new problems.
6. To promote
the technical, intellectual and social intercourse of
members.
7. To carry
out or conduct all or any of the above objectives in
the interests of the Association, which shall not be
regarded as in any way interfering with the membership
of, or allegiance to, other scientific and technical
associations.
8. To promote
the status, general standing and interests of its members
and in collaboration with other Professional Bodies in
the Mining Industry, to do all such other things as in
the opinion of the Association are incidental or conducive
to the attainment of any or all of the above objectives.
9. To provide
a cost efficient administration for the Association,
either alone or in conjunction with other professional
associations in the mining industry, by employing, remunerating
and determining duration and conditions of employment
of any necessary full-time or part-time staff, consultants
and specialists.
10. To co-operate with any
person, group or association allied with the coal industry
or any matter affecting the interests or objectives of
the Association.
11. To amalgamate with any
other association having the same or similar objectives
or to be associated with any such amalgamation or association
and to contribute to the funds of any amalgamated association.
12. To frame by-laws for
the regulation of the business of the Association as
to the summoning and holding of meetings of the Association
and the transaction of the business thereof.
13. To enter into such contracts
and do all such lawful acts as may be expedient
for the purpose of the Association.
14. To represent generally
the views of the profession, suppress dishonorable conduct
or practice, provide for the amicable settlement or adjustment
of professional disputes and to consider and deal with
all matters affecting the professional interest of members.
15. To open and operate
on a banking account in the name of the Association and
invest any money of the Association not immediately required,
upon such security or securities and on such terms and
conditions as may from time to time be determined.
16. The policy of the Association
in all matters affecting the coal industry shall be to
represent the broad interests of the coal industry and
not to promote the specific interests of any individual
companies or groups.
17. The Association shall
not, as a body, be responsible for the statements and
opinions advanced in papers, which may be read, and in
the discussions which may take place.
18. Membership
of the Association shall consist of Full members, Affiliate
members, Student members, Honorary Life members, and
Retired members
19. Full Member : Full Membership
shall be confined to Engineers who hold the Electrical
and / or Mechanical Certificate of Competency or other
acceptable qualifications, working on a colliery or in
the coal mining industry and whose membership would be
of benefit to the Association and is acceptable to Council. Full
Members will have voting rights.
20. Affiliate Member : Affiliate
Membership shall be confined to persons who may or may not be the holder of a Electrical
or Mechanical Certificate of Competency or other acceptable
qualification whose membership would be of benefit to
the Association and is acceptable to Council. Affiliate
Members will not have voting rights.
21. Student Member : Graduates
and diplomats employed on collieries as Junior Engineers
or Engineers - in - Training will be eligible for Student
Membership. A
Student Member must be sponsored by a Full Member and
be acceptable to Council. Student
Members will not have voting rights.
22. Retired Member : Any member
who retires from the Mining Industry due to age or incapacitation
shall subject to Council approval, be eligible to Retired
Membership of the Association. Retired Members will not have any voting rights.
23. Honorary Life Member : The
Council may elect any member to Honorary Life Membership
of the Association who has served the Association with
distinction. Honorary
Members will not have voting rights. Nominations for Honorary Life Membership
shall be made to Council and be approved by a three-fourths
majority of Council members.
24. The annual subscription
for all categories of members, shall be determined by
Council and shall be payable in advance on receipt of
invoice.
25. Application for admission
to membership shall be made on the prescribed form, to
Council for approval. The
proposer is to verify that the information submitted
is correct. Applications
for Full Membership, is to include a copy of the Certificate
of Competency.
26. Council is to be informed
of any member's change in job status, which may affect
his class of membership.
27. Subscriptions shall
not be returned to members under any circumstances.
28. Any member failing to
pay his subscription within three months from date of
invoice and after due notice shall have his name erased
from the list of members, whereupon he shall cease to
be a member of the Association. The
Council shall have the power to restore such persons
to all privileges or membership on payment of all arrears.
29. Membership is limited
to individuals.
30. Any member may resign
from membership by giving notice in writing to the Secretary
of his / her intention to do so.
31. Any member, who, for
any reason at any time ceases to hold the qualifications
of membership laid down in these rules, shall thereupon
cease to be a member of the Association.
32. Upon evidence satisfying
the members of Council that any member has been guilty
of an offence which renders him / her unfit to be a member,
the Council shall have the right with the approval of
at least two-thirds of those present at any Council meeting
of the Association to expel such member from the Association,
whereupon his name shall be removed from the list of
members. Any
member so expelled shall have no claim whatsoever on
the Association. Any
member whose conduct is being enquired into in terms
of this rule, shall be entitled to produce and call witnesses
on his / her behalf.
33. No member shall, in
the name of the Association, publish or give his consent
to the publication of any papers submitted, statements
or communication made to the Association without the
consent of the Council acting for the Association. In urgent cases the President may in
his discretion give such consent, subject to the matter
being reported, in writing, to the next Council meeting.
34. The Opencast Users Committee,
Underground Users Committee, Plant Users Committee and
any other committee acting on behalf of S.A.C.E.A. shall
ensure that all meeting / business records are forwarded
to Council for information.
35. In the event of the
Association being wound up, no liability shall be incurred
by any member other than in respect of his unpaid subscriptions,
and any other money he may then owe to the Association.
36. Each member shall furnish
the Secretary in writing with an address to which notices
and other matters may be sent. Any
change of address shall be notified immediately in writing
to the Secretary.
37. The affairs of the Association
shall be conducted by a Council consisting of a President,
Vice-President, 2nd Vice-President, the immediate
Past President and a minimum of ten members, each of
whom shall be a Full Member of the Association. Council
may at its discretion from time to time vary the number
of elected members serving on Council.
38. The immediate Past President
shall be a member of the Council for the year of office
and shall have the full rights of an elected member of
the Council.
39. The Regional Representative
shall be an ex officio member of Council.
40. The President, Vice-President
and 2nd Vice-President shall be elected annually
by the outgoing Council at a Council meeting prior to
the Regional Annual General Meetings.
41. The election of Regional
Representatives shall not preclude the member's election
to President or Vice-President of the Association at
the same time.
42. Subject to the rules
of Articles 44, 45, 46, and 47 below, members of the
Council shall be elected annually by ballot in which
Full Members shall be entitled to vote.
43. Each Region into which,
the Association is divided for the purpose of its Regional
meetings, shall have representation on the Council exclusive
of the President, Vice-President, 2nd Vice-President
and the Immediate Past President.
44. If such representation,
has not been secured by the ordinary process of election,
the candidate from each Region securing the greatest
number of votes shall be elected to the Council, the
remaining vacancies being filled by the candidate securing
the greatest number of votes.
45. Of the elected members
of Council, half shall retire annually in rotation but
shall be eligible for re-election.
46. Any vacancy occurring
in the Council during the year may be filled by the Council
and any person so appointed shall hold office until the
next Annual General Meeting.
47. The provisions of Article
48 shall not apply to any person appointed as President
or Vice-President. Should
the office of President become vacant during an office
term, the Vice-President assumes office as President. If
the office of Vice-President becomes vacant, a new Vice-President
must be elected from the existing Council members by
Council.
48. The office of President
or Vice-President shall not be held by the same member
two years in succession, provided, however, that if such
office is held as a result of the position having been
rendered vacant through resignation or otherwise during
any year the holder shall be eligible for re-election
as President or Vice-President for a further period of
one year.
49. If any member of Council
absent himself / herself from three consecutive Council
meetings without leave, he shall ipso facto cease to
be a member thereof.
50. The Ordinary meetings
of the Council shall be held monthly unless otherwise
decided by the Council.
51. Five members shall constitute
a quorum at any Council meeting and the Chair shall be
taken, at all meetings, by the President, or in his absence,
by the Vice-President, but should neither be present
the meeting shall elect a Chairman from amongst the members
present.
52. Special Council meetings
may be called at such times as the Council may appoint,
or may be called by the President, or on a requisition
in writing by any three members of the Council.
53. The Council may act
notwithstanding any vacancy in their numbers provided
a quorum is present.
54. Leave of absence shall
not be granted to any member of the Council for a period
longer than six months.
55. Proper minutes of all
Council meetings shall be kept, and attendance of members
at such meetings shall be recorded. Council
minutes shall be circulated to Council members only.
56. Co-opted Council Members : The Council
shall have the power to elect Full Members to serve on
Council, provided such person added value to the Council
and would contribute positively to the Association affairs. A
Co-opted member shall have full voting rights. A
Co-opted member may be eligible for re-appointment at
the discretion of Council. Council
may terminate the appointment of a Co-opted member at
its discretion.
57. The management of the
affairs of the Association shall be vested in
the Council.
58. Any resolution, passed
at a General Meeting of Members, must be ratified
by the Council. However, if such resolution is considered
by Council to be against the best interests of
the Association, it may be referred to a Special
or the next Ordinary General Meeting for consideration.
59. The
Secretary, auditors, attorneys, and all employees
of the Association shall be appointed by the
Council. Such
remunerations as the Council may decide shall
be paid from Association funds. The
Council shall determine the term of office of
such bodies.
COMPOSITION
OF REGION COMMITTEES
60. The affairs of each
region shall be conducted by a Regional Committee
of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary.
61. Rules 39 - 43 and 45 - 47
shall equally apply to the election, appointment
and management of the Region Committees; Chairman
shall be substituted for President, Vice-Chairman
for Vice-President and Region Committee for Council.
62. The Council shall be
kept informed by the Region Committee of any
changes and appointment made by the Regional
Committee.
63. The choice of which
Region to join shall be at the discretion of
the Member concerned.
64. Delimitation of Regions
and / or the formation of additional Region(s)
shall be a function of Council.
65. Negotiations affecting
the Association shall be left in the hands of
the President and the Vice-President, but in
all matters of broad principle affecting the
interest of members, the President and Vice-President
shall act only in terms of the decision of a
General Meeting.
66. The
Council shall have the power to appoint special
committees for such purposes as may be thought
fit, consisting of such members and other persons
as may be determined at the time of appointment
and may in general meeting delegate to such committee
such powers as the Council deem advisable. A
committee so appointed shall report to the Council
from time to time. If
any vacancy occurs on any committee so appointed,
the committee shall have the power to co-opt
a member to fill the vacancy.
67. There shall be opened
in the name of the Association a banking account
with a Bank or Financial Institution as the Council
may from time to time appoint.
68. The banking account
shall be operated by the two (2) signatures,
one from each of the following:
(a) the
Secretary or the Regional Secretary.
(b) two
(2) nominated Council members.
69. All subscriptions and
other monies received by the Association from
whatever source shall be paid into the banking
account, and shall only be used for the purpose
of the Association with the authority of a Council
meeting of the Association.
70. The profits or gains
of the Association shall not be distributed
to any person and the funds of the Association
shall be used for investment or for achievement
of the Association's objectives provided that
nothing herein contained shall prevent the payment
in good faith of reasonable remuneration and
expenses to any member thereof in return for
services actually rendered to the Association.
71. The Council may, from
time to time, agree to use a portion of profits
or gains for the purpose of promotion of the
Association.
72. The Secretaries of the
Regions shall be appointed by the respective
Regions in general meeting. Remuneration and terms and conditions
of appointment to be approved by Council.
73. The Secretaries so appointed
shall carry out their secretarial duties under
and subject to the direction of the Chairman
and Vice-Chairman and the respective Regions.
74. All
regional expenses shall be paid out of central
Association funds through an imprest account.
75. The Association and
Regions shall cause true accounts and
books to be kept showing all monies
received and expended on behalf of
the Association and Regions and the
matters in respect of which such receipts
and expenditure take place, and the
assets, credits and balances of the
Association, which shall be duly audited
as provided in the rules. Financial
statements shall be produced by the
treasurer at each Annual General Meeting.
76. There shall be annual
audits of the books and accounts of
the Association and Regions conducted
by an auditor or auditors appointed
in terms of Rule 60.
77. A casual vacancy in
the position of auditor may be filled
at a Council meeting on such terms
and conditions as may then be decided.
78. The Annual General Meeting
of the Association shall be held in
the first quarter of each year on a
date and at such place and time as
the Council may decide, to receive
the report of the Council on the state
of the Association, together with the
annual statement of the accounts, and
to receive the results of the election
for members of the Council and Committees
for the ensuing year. The Association Secretary shall give
notice of such meeting to the members
as herein provided. The Annual General Meeting of the Regions
shall be held prior to the Annual General
Meeting of the Association.
79. Ordinary General meetings
of the Association Regions shall be
held at least once every calendar month,
unless otherwise so decided at a Regional
General Meeting.
80. On receipt by the Secretary
of the requisition signed by at least
four (4) Ordinary Members, the Regional
Chairman shall convene a Special General
meeting of the Region. Any requisition so addressed to the Regional
Secretary shall contain particulars
of the business to be submitted to
the meeting and no other than that
business shall be transacted at that
meeting.
81. In the event of both
positions of Regional Chairman and
Vice-Chairman becoming vacant, the
Regional Secretary shall call a Special
General Meeting for the purpose of
making new appointments in terms of
Rule 61.
In
the event of both positions of President
and Vice-President becoming vacant
for any reason, the Association Secretary
shall call a Council meeting for the
purpose of making new appointments
in terms of Rule 61.
82. Sixteen Full Ordinary
Members of the Association (personally
present and entitled to vote) shall
constitute a quorum at the Annual General
Association meetings. Should no quorum be present at an Annual
General Association meeting, the meeting
shall stand adjourned to the same day
in the next week at the same time and
place, unless such day be a public
holiday, when it shall stand adjourned
to the first business day following
such public holiday. At
such adjourned meetings, the members
present shall constitute a quorum. Should no quorum be present at an Ordinary
General Meeting, the meeting may be
held at the discretion of the President
or Chairman, but the decisions of such
meeting shall be subject to confirmation
at the next properly constituted Ordinary
General Association meeting.
83. Notices of the Ordinary
General Association meetings of members
shall be served by the Association
Secretary at least five (5) days before
the date appointed for the meeting
upon every member either personally,
or by post in a prepaid letter addressed
to such member at his registered address.
84. Notices of Annual General
Association meetings shall be served
as aforesaid at least seven (7) days
before the date appointed for the meeting.
85. Notices of Special General
association meetings shall be served
as aforesaid at least seven (7) days
before the date appointed for the meeting,
except in cases of urgency when twenty-four
(24) hours notice may be given.
86. All notices of meetings
shall show at the foot thereof an Agenda
of business to be transacted at the
meeting.
87. Ordinary Members wishing
to bring important business not shown
on the Agenda notice before an Annual
General Meeting, shall in cases submit
notice of motion in writing to the
Association Secretary, before the date
of the meeting at which such business
is proposed to be brought forward. In
cases claimed to be urgent by the mover
of the motion, the same shall be considered
without notice at any such meeting
provided that at least three-fourths
of the Ordinary members present and
voting are of the opinion that the
matter is urgent, but in no case shall
the alteration of the Rules be claimed
to be urgent.
88. Each
Full Member of the Association shall
be entitled to one vote.
89. Questions at any meeting
shall be decided by a majority of votes
of those present and voting. In
cases of any equality of votes the
Chairman shall have a second or casting
vote. Voting shall be determined by a show
of hands, but any five (5) Full Members
may demand a ballot upon any question
submitted at any meeting, and the Chairman
of the meeting shall direct when and
in what manner a ballot shall be taken
on any such question. At any ballot the Chairman shall appoint
scrutineers by whom the result of the
ballot shall be declared.
90. Proper Minutes of all
meetings shall be kept, and attendance
of members at such meetings shall also
be recorded.
91.
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Annual
General Meetings
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Full
SACEA distribution list
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Special
General Meetings
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Regional
Meetings
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Group
CM & EE's
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Sub-Committee
Meetings
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Technical
Department COM
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Council
Meetings
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Council
Members only
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92. Meetings
shall be conducted in the following
manner:
a) The Chair
to be taken at such hour and place
as appointed by the notice convening
the meeting.
b) The Minutes
of the last Ordinary or Annual General
Meeting as the case may be and of any
Special General Meeting since held
to be read or taken as read and confirmed.
c) The business
arising out the notice calling the
meeting, of the previous Minutes, as
the case may be, to be next taken.
d) General
Business.
93. Every paper read before
the Association and its Region shall
be open for discussion for the three
following Ordinary General meetings
after the meeting at which the paper
was read.
94. The President or Regional
Chairman may invite any person, not
a member, to attend any meeting of
the Association.
95. A committee appointed
in terms of Rule 60 may invite any
member or any person not a member of
the Association to attend meetings
of such committee in an advisory capacity.
96. Meetings shall be held
in such places as may be agreed upon
by members present at a previous meeting.
97. Ordinary General Association
meetings shall be held when deemed
necessary by Council, but at least
once annually.
98. Minutes of all Ordinary
and Special Regional meetings shall
be forwarded to each member of the
Region and as many copies as may be
requested to the Council of the Association
and to Regional Secretaries.
99. In
the event of any dispute arising as
to the interpretation of the Constitution
and any of the Association's Rules,
the same shall be referred to Council
in writing. It
is Council's responsibility to action
such notice. The
decision of Council after due deliberation
will be final.
100. The
Constitution and Rules of the Association
shall not be altered or amended save
by a special resolution duly approved
by a majority of at least three-fourths
of the Ordinary members present at
a General Association meeting, and
provided written notice of the proposed
additions or amendments shall be given
at a previous General Association meeting
or at the previous Regional meetings
of both Regions.
101. Upon such alterations, amendments
or additions being made as aforesaid,
the same shall be deemed and taken
to be incorporated in and form part
of these Rules in the same manner and
in all respect as though inserted therein,
and shall be binding upon all matters
of the Association without any further
or special act of assent thereto.
102. All suits in law by or against the
Association or its members may be instituted
or defended in the name of the Association. All
powers of attorney, bonds, deeds and
other formal documents shall be executed
by the Secretary or Acting-Secretary
for the time being of the Association,
under the authority of a resolution
of the Council.
103. The Association may be liquidated
and wound up by resolution of not less
than three-fourths of the Full members
present at a Special General Association
meeting called for the purpose after
notice of not less than thirty (30)
days, provided that at such meeting
not less than two-thirds of the total
number of the members of the Association
are present.
104. The meeting shall appoint liquidators
if necessary, and shall decide in what
manner the surplus assets of the Association
after satisfaction of its debts shall
be applied.
105. In the event of the required number
of Full members not being present,
the meeting shall stand adjourned to
the same day in the next week at the
same time and place unless such day
shall be a public holiday, when it
shall be adjourned to the first business
day following at the same time and
place. If
at such adjourned meeting the required
number of Full members are not present,
then the Full members who are present
may transact the business for which
the meeting was called.
106. Upon winding-up of the Association
for any reason, the assets of the Association
remaining after the satisfaction of
all its liabilities shall be given
or transferred to some other association
or institutions having objects similar
to those of the Association, to be
determined by the members of the Association
at or before the time of its dissolution
or, failing such determination, by
the liquidators or, failing them, by
the court.
