Constitutional Amendment
GSA Welfare Officer
Preamble:
In the October 2001 AGM, a motion was passed mandating the GSA Exec to look
into the establishment of up to two new part-time sabbatical officers. In the Spring
term of this year, a group was set up to look into this, eventually concluding that the
GSA required a Welfare Officer (15 hours a week) and an Internal Officer (10 hours a
week) and remits were drawn up for each position. A proposal was then taken to the
SU requesting that the SU support the GSA at the next Council meeting in requesting
the new sabbaticals be established and top-sliced from postgraduate capitation.1 At a
meeting of the SU’s Executive Committee, the GSA President made the case for these
sabbaticals; whilst the SU agreed to support the Welfare Officer, they are unwilling to
support the Internal Officer.
This constitutional amendment, if passed, would do two things:
1. Create a sabbatical Welfare Officer (replacing the current academic and nonacademic non-sabb welfare officers)
2. Require that this amendment is subject to Council’s agreement to the funding
arrangement as agreed with the SU
Amendment:
This Association resolves to amend the GSA Constitution in the following manner:
1. Article 7.4 to be amended to read:
‘7.4 The Officers of the Association shall be:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
The President
The Welfare Officer
The Internal Officer
The Treasurer
The Events Officer
The Press & Publicity Officer
The Sporting Activities Officer
The Facilities Officer
The National Postgraduate Committee Officer
The Part-time Students’ Officer
The Overseas’ Student Officer’
2. All references to the Vice-President to be replaced with Internal Officer
3. Articles 7.11 and 7.12 to be deleted
4. The following to be inserted between Article 7.8 and 7.9:
For clarification; an amount of money is taken from each postgraduate’s tuition fees and put into a
figure called Capitation. This figure is split in half, with half going to the GSA as its budget and half
going to the SU to pay for postgraduate uptake of Union services. Currently, the GSA President’s
salary is taken out of this sum before the split. The proposal is for the same to occur with the new
sabbaticals, leading to a minor impact on the SU budget and therefore requiring their agreement.
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Constitutional Amendment
GSA Welfare Officer
‘The Welfare Officer shall:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Be responsible for coordinating all matters relating to welfare
within the Association
Be responsible for coordinating the Association’s attendance
and input to all welfare related committees of the University
and the Students’ Union
Carry out Trust Fund correspondence, with the assistance of the
Office Manager.
Attend Trust Fund meetings.’
5. Article 7.5 to be amended to read:
‘7.5 In the absence of the President, Exec is to be chaired by the
Welfare Officer, and the President’s duties to be assigned to whichever
Officer(s) Exec deems most capable of carrying them out.’
6. Article 7.9 (i) to be deleted
7. Articles 7.8 through 7.20 be renumbered to reflect the seniority laid out in 7.4
8. Article 7.6 be amended to read:
‘7.6 The positions of GSA President and GSA Welfare Officer shall
be held as part-time sabbatical posts’
This Association further resolves:
9. These amendments are conditional on Council supporting the establishment of
the Welfare Officer, with the Officer’s wage paid out of postgraduate
capitation before the split between the SU and GSA
10. That the Welfare Officer’s contract shall embody the guidelines laid out in the
‘Obligations and Objectives of the Welfare Officer of the Graduate Students’
Association’ document2
2
This was the document presented to the SU Exec when presenting the case for the Welfare Officer
position
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Constitutional Amendment
GSA Welfare Officer
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