Joint Health and Safety Consultative Committee - Procedure Rules

1. Attendance and Deputies

1.1 The chief officers and other officers of the Council may attend as necessary.

1.2 The permanent district trade union officials of those organisations representing employees on the Committee may attend as necessary, but must notify the Joint Secretaries beforehand.

1.3 The Employers’ Side may nominate four deputies and the Employees’ Side may nominate five deputies to serve as substitute Members in the absence of appointed Members of the relevant Side.

1.4 Membership shall continue only so long as the Member or substitute Member remains an employee or Member of the Council as the case may be.

2. Chairman

2.1 A Chairman and a Vice-Chairman shall be appointed by the Committee at its first meeting in each year. If the Chairman is appointed from the Employer’s Side then the Vice Chairman shall be appointed from the Employees’ Side and vice versa. The chairman of a meeting shall have no casting vote.

3. Secretary

3.1 The Committee shall appoint a secretary from each Side who will act jointly and be known as the Joint Secretaries.

4. Functions

4.1 The functions of the Committee will be

(a) To give consideration to all matters of the health and safety of the Council’s employees and to monitor the Council’s policies on health and safety.

(b) To make recommendations to the Cabinet on employment and health and safety matters.

(c) To deal with any relevant matter referred to the Committee by the Cabinet of the Council or any of the employee associations.

5. Rules and Regulations

5.1 The Committee will normally meet at least two times each year two weeks before an ordinary meeting of the Cabinet.

5.2 The Chairman or Vice Chairman may direct the Joint Secretaries to call a meeting at any time.

5.3 A meeting of the Committee must be called within 7 days of the receipt of a requisition signed by not less than one-third of the Members of either Side.

5.4 The matters to be discussed at any meeting of the Committee must be set out in the notice summoning the meeting but any other business may be considered if not less than two-thirds of those present at the meeting agree.

5.5 The quorum for the Committee will be three Members from the Employer’s Side and three Members from the Employees’ Side.

5.6 No resolution may be regarded as carried unless it has been approved by a majority of the Members present on each Side.

5.7 The Committee cannot arrive at any agreement which conflicts with the policy or recommendations of any appropriate Provincial Council.

5.8 The minutes of any meeting of the Committee may be submitted to the next meeting of the Cabinet.

6. Title

6.1 The Committee will be known as the Joint Health and Safety Consultative Committee.