Proposed Constitutional Changes from member organisations Canada/USA, CH & UK

IFSW General Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 10-12 July 2002

Article 15, Executive Committee Constitution

Motion:
The regime for appointments proposed under Article 15 of the recommended changes to the IFSW Constitution be amended as follows:

That reference to North America be deleted from Article 15 r) That North America be included in the list of regions in Article 15 s) That the following phrase be added to the end of Articles 15 q) and 15 s): If and when the North American Region comprises more than two members, the regime for appointments in that Region under this Article shall be reviewed.

Swiss Association of Social Workers (ASPAS)

IFSW General Meeting, Geneva, July 10 – 12, 2002
Motions from the Swiss Association of Social Workers to the proposed changes to the Constitution

Hereby we would like to present the following motions concerning the proposed changes to the General Meeting by the IFSW Executive Committee on the Constitution and By-Laws. We thank you in advance for taking them into consideration.

1. Motion, Article 5, Eligibility for Membership

"c) If there is more than one national Social Work Organisation in a country which may qualify for membership, one such organisation may be admitted as a Member only if the other such organisation(s) have confirmed or otherwise made clear that they are not interested in membership of the Federation, or participation in a national Co-ordinating Body which may seek membership."

Motion from ASPAS: Delete section c)

Rationale: According to proposed article c), all organisations in a country should be consulted to confirm their lack of interest if one enter or want to join IFSW. In theory, it is possible for one organisation not to confirm their lack of interest of tactical reasons, in order to prevent another organisation from taking part in the Federation. ASPAS is of the opinion that this procedure can lead to almost impossible problems in a country and that it is contradicting the interest of the Federation to be linked to as many countries as possible. Article 5 d) is regulating the problem that can arise if several organisations in a country want to associated with IFSW by proposing a Co-ordinating Body, and article 5 c) could be deleted without any problem.

2. Motion, Article 6, Categories of Membership

"d) A prospective Full Member which has applied for membership and has been assessed as being eligible for full membership, but which has not yet been admitted to Full Membership at a General Meeting shall be known as a Candidate."

Motion from ASPAS: Remove section d) from Article 6 and place it as new Article 8 to be headlined "Prospective Full Member" or "Candidate".
The numbering of Article 8 and the following Articles should consequently be renumbered.

Rationale: Article 6 lists the different categories of members of the Federation. Since the candidate organisations are not members according the proposal from the IFSW Executive Committee, their status should in order to avoid confusion be regulated separately. That is why ASPAS proposes that the status of candidate organisations should be regulated in a separate Article with its own headline to be placed after Article 7. The numbering of Article 8 and the following Articles should consequently be renumbered.

3. Motion, Article 7, Rights and obligations of Membership

"d) Candidates shall

be entitled to observer status in General Meetings correspond with their Region, rather than directly with the Secretariat.’

Motion from ASPAS: Remove section d) from Article 7 and integrate it in the new Article 8 which is proposed in our 2. Motion

Rationale: The candidate organisations are not members and the regulation of their rights and obligations in Article 7 can cause confusion. That is why ASPAS is proposing to integrate section d) in Article 7 in the new Article 8 headlined "Candidate" or "Prospective Full Member"

4. Motion, Article 15, Executive Committee Constitution

"a) The Executive Committee shall consist of the 7 Officers and 1 additional Member nominated by each Region."

Motion from ASPAS: Reconsider the definition of regions before deciding the number of representatives in the Executive Committee (see Article 20 of the Constitution and Motion 5 from ASPAS).

Rationale: The number of representatives in the Executive Committee should be settled in relation to the new definition of regions as proposed in Motion 5 from ASPAS.

5. Motion, Article 20, Regions

"a) The membership shall be divided into 5 geographical Regions: Africa, Asia & Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean and North America"

Motion from ASPAS: Define the regions taking into consideration geographical distances, cultural differences and number of member organisations. Possibly increase the number of regions proposed by the IFSW Executive Committee.

Rationale: The proposal from the Executive Committee to maintain the number of regions at 5 continues a situation already problematic for the Federation. Today, some regions cover a geographical area making real cooperation between the affiliated organisations almost impossible. This is the case for Asia & Pacific and Europe. Other regions are more homogeneous and have fewer organisations affiliated who are to coordinate their activities within IFSW (for example North America). ASPAS proposes to take advantage of the revision of the Constitution and By-laws of IFSW and reconsider the present number of regions taking into consideration geographical distances, number of organisations capable of forming a region and cultural differences. A new definition should permit all organisations in membership to be on equal footing and regions to work more efficiently.

Assemblée générale de la FITS, 10. – 12.7.2002, Genève:
Motions de l’Association suisse des professionnels de l’action sociale relatives aux changements constitutionnels proposés

Par la présente, nous nous permettons de vous soumettre les motions suivantes concernant les changements de la constitution et des statuts proposés à l’assemblée générale par le Comité exécutif de la FITS. D’avance, nous vous remercions de bien vouloir les prendre en considération.

1ère motion: Article 5 „Eligibility for Membership"

„ (…)
c) If there are more than one national Social Work Organisations in a country which may qualify for membership, one such organisation may be admitted as a Member only if the other such organisations(s) have confirmed or otherwise made clear that they are not interested in membership of the Federation, or participation in a national Co-ordinating Body which may seek membership."

Motion de l’ASPAS: : Supprimer la lettre c)
Motif: Selon l’article 5 c) proposé, toutes les associations d’un pays devraient être consultées pour confirmer leur manque d’intérêt si l‘une d’entre elles voulait adhérer à la FITS. Théoriquement, il serait donc possible qu’une organisation ne confirme pas son manque d‘intérêt pour des raisons tactiques, afin d’empêcher qu‘une autre d’entre elles fasse partie de la Fédération. L’ASPAS est d‘avis que cette procédure entraînerait des problèmes presque insurmontables suivant les pays et qu’elle est en contradiction avec l’intérêt de la Fédération de s‘implanter dans le plus de pays possible. L‘article 5 d) réglant le problème qui peut surgir si plusieurs organisations d’un pays désirent s’associer à la Fédération internationale en proposant la création d’un „Co-ordination Body", l’article 5 c) peut être supprimé sans problème

2ème motion: Article 6 „Categories of Membership"

„(…)
d) A prospective Full Member which has applied for membership and has been assessed as being eligible for full membership, but which has not yet been admitted to Full Membership at a General Meeting shall be known as Candidate."

Motion de l’ASPAS: Séparer cette lettre d) de l’article 6 et le placer comme nouvel article 8 en l‘intitulant „Prospective Full Member" ou „Candidate". La numérotation des articles 8 et suivants proposée par le Comité Exécutif est à adapter en conséquence.
Motif: L’article 6 énumère les différentes catégories des membres de la Fédération. Les organisations candidates n’étant pas membre à part entière d’après la version proposée par le Comité exécutif, il nous semble important de régler leur statut séparément, afin d’éviter toute confusion. C’est pourquoi l’ASPAS propose que le statut des organisations candidates soit réglé dans un article distinct intitulé en conséquence et placé juste après l’article 7. La numérotation des articles 8 et suivants tel qu’ils sont proposés par le Comité exécutif est à adapter en conséquence.

3ème motion: Article 7 „Rights and obligations of Membership"

„(…)
d) Candidates shall:

be entitled to observer status in General Meetings correspond with their Region, rather than directly with the Secretariat."

Motion de l’ASPAS: Séparer cette lettre d) de l’article 7et l’intégrer dans le nouvel article 8 tel qu’il est proposé par la 2ème motion de l’ASPAS énoncée ci-dessus.
Motif: Les organisations candidates n’étant pas membres à part entière, l’énonciation de leurs droits et obligations dans le cadre de cet article prête à confusion. C’est pourquoi l’ASPAS propose d’intégrer la lettre d) de l’article 7 soumis par le Comité exécutif au nouvel article 8 intitulé „Candidate" ou „Prospective Full Member".

4ème motion: Article 15 „Executive Comittee Constitution"

„a) The Executive Committee shal consit of the 7 Officers an 1 additional Member nominated by each Region."
(…)"

Motion de l’ASPAS: Reconsidérer la définition des régions avant de fixer le nombre des représentant-e-s au Comité exécutif. (cf. Art. 20 de la Constitution et 5ème motion de l’ASPAS).
Motif: Le nombre de représentant-e-s au Comité exécutif doit être fixé en fonction d’une nouvelle définition des régions telle qu’elle est demandée par la motion 5 de l’ASPAS.

5ème motion: Article 20 „Regions"

„a) The membership shall be divided into 5 geographical Regions: Africa, Asia & Pacific, Europe, Latin America & Caribbean and North America.
b) (…)"

Motion de l’ASPAS: Définir les régions en tenant compte des distances (géographiques), des différences culturelles et du nombre des asssociations membres. Eventuellement augmenter le nombre des régions proposé par le Comité exécutif.
Motif: La proposition du Comité exécutif de maintenir à 5 le nombre des régions de la FITS perpétue une situation déjà problématique au sein de la Fédération. En effet, certaines régions ont un périmètre géographique tel qu’une réelle collaboration entre les associations affiliées est presque impossible. Ceci est le cas pour l’actuelle région „Asia & Pacific" ou „Europe". D’autres régions sont plus homogènes et ont nettement moins d’organisations affiliées qui doivent coordonner leurs activités au sein de la Fédération (par exemple l’Amérique du Nord). L’ASPAS propose de profiter de la révision de la Constitution et des statuts de la FITS afin de reconsidérer le nombre actuel et la définition des régions en tenant compte des distances géographiques, du nombre d’associations affiliées aptes à former une région et des différences culturelles. Une nouvelle définition permettrait à toutes les organisations affiliées à la Fédération d’être à pied égal et aux régions de faire un travail plus efficace.

En vous priant d’excuser notre français peut-être un peu lourd, nous vous prions d’agréer, chers Présidente et Membres du Comité exécutif, nos meilleures salutations.

Article 15, Executive Committee Constitution

Article 15 (a)

To delete the number ‘10’ whenever it occurs and to substitute the number ‘3’.

To delete the words ‘Each Region will have at least one Member at Large …….. nominees for other Regions’ and to substitute ‘At least one Member at Large will be elected from a country with a Gross Domestic Product below the world average as determined by the United Nations.’

If preferred, this could be phrased as an amendment to the proposed Resolution 4

To amend the proposed Article 15(a) to read:
‘The Executive Committee shall consist of the 7 Officers and 3 additional Members elected by the General Meeting, at least one of whom will be elected from a country with a Gross Domestic Product below the world average as determined by the United Nations.’

The intention of this amendment is as follows:
1 To ensure that the World Executive includes at least half of its membership who are elected on a global basis [ie President, Treasurer and 3 Members at Large, with 5 Vice Presidents elected by Regions]. The proposals from the Executive Group would result in an Executive which was mainly elected by Regions, with only the President and Treasurer elected at global level; this would be likely to change the character of the Federation into a federation of regions rather than a federation of member organisations. The Group’s proposal would also tend to emphasise tensions between regions rather than to promote a truly global perspective.
2 To make a reality of the intention to reduce the Executive to a workable size and to release more resources to support the work of Regional Committees.
Other consequential amendments would be required to ensure consistency throughout the constitutional documents.

Article 5, Eligibility for Membership

We, and I suspect this will apply to other members, have some difficulty with the proposed Article 5 "Eligibility for Membership".

BASW Council decided some time ago that it should allow students undergoing post secondary education in social work to be full members. Article 5 as put proposes that the members of the national Social Work Organisation, which is being considered for membership, must have completed post-secondary education in social work. Obviously that puts BASW’s arrangements with students at odds with the proposed form of the Article.

In addition, BASW has, historically, had to face the problem that there are more jobs which require qualified social workers to perform them than there are qualified social workers seeking to fill them. BASW decided some years ago to admit to membership people who occupy posts in which, in the opinion of BASW Council, a qualified social worker would appropriately be employed.

BASW is fully committed to the thorough professional training of all people who work as social workers, and is determined that the position will be reached where that has been achieved. In the meantime, BASW has taken the inclusive view that those who are not qualified but occupy social work posts deserve to be supported as full members and enabled to take a full part in the life of the profession of social work. Such members are supported and encouraged to obtain a professional qualification.

Accordingly, it is necessary for us to request that the proposed Article 5 be slightly amended.

The extent of BASW’s student and unqualified membership is, as you would expect, very much a minority of the total membership, and it appears to us that the situation could be covered quite easily by the addition in Article 5 (a) of the words:- "the substantial majority of", between "country," and "whose members" in line 1.

This is, we believe, a problem which would apply to other member organisations.

We trust that this amendment can be progressed.