Constitution

Constitution of Labour Youth

 

Article One: Name

1. The name of the youth section of the Labour Party is Labour Youth

Article Two: Principles and Objectives

1. Labour Youth is constituted under Article 8 (1) (c) of the Labour Party Constitution.
2. The objectives of Labour Youth shall be:
(a) To secure support of young people for the principles, objects and policies of the Labour party and to encourage and to facilitate young people to join the party.
(b) To prepare and pursue through the Labour Party, a programme of work to deal with the problems, aspirations and needs of young people.
(c) To provide educational, training and social opportunities for young members of the Labour party.

Article Three: Membership

Membership of Labour Youth is open to all Labour Party members under the age of 26 who opt to participate.

Article Four: Constituency Organisation

1. A Constituency Youth section consists of of all constituency, branch and individual members under the age of 26 registered to branches or societies in its operational area as appropriate.
2. The name of each society or branch shall be "Labour Youth" followed by the name of the functional area.

Article Five: Youth Organisers

1. Each Youth Section shall elect a Youth Organiser for its section at Constituency Council annual general meetings. Each Youth Organiser must be a member of the Youth Section s/he represents. Where a Youth Organiser has not been elected the NYE may appoint any youth member from that constituency on an interim basis.
2. The functions of the Youth Organiser shall include:
- To co-ordinate all Labour Youth activity in their Youth Section including meetings, campaigns and recruitment.
- Present a written report to each National Youth Conference on activities conducted by his/her Youth Section.
- Organise Labour Youth members in their section to attend Labour Youth National Conference.
- Report on the above activities to their Constituency Council.
Youth Organisers may also hold the office of youth officer as defined in Article 7.3 of the Labour Party Constitution

Article Six: National Conference

1. A National Youth Conference shall be held annually at such time and place as decided by the National Youth Executive (NYE) of Labour Youth.
2. The National Conference shall consist of such number of delegates elected by each Youth Section as shall be determined by the NYE in accordance with the scale of registered membership.
3. Every delegate attending the Conference must be a branch or individual member of the Party, registered at Head Office, for not less than one month prior to the date of Conference.
4. At National Conference every delegate shall have one vote.
5. Proxy voting is prohibited.
6. Every registered member of Labour Youth shall have the right to attend and speak at Conference.
7. The National Conference shall elect the National Officers of Labour Youth (other than the NYDO). All delegates at National Youth Conference have the right to vote at elections for National Officers.
8. In the event of National Conference failing to elect one or more National Officers, those posts shall be filled by a subsequent National Meeting at the first possible opportunity.
9. The option of Re-Open Nominations shall appear as a candidate on all ballots, with the procedures for election to be determined in accordance with the Standing Orders for Labour Youth.

Article Seven: National Youth Executive (NYE)

1. The NYE shall consist of the following National Officers:
The National Chair person shall have overall responsibility for the development and management of Labour Youth. The National Chair will also act as PRO for Labour Youth. It is hereby determined in accordance with Article 11 (4) (b) of the Party Constitution that the National Chairperson shall be the Labour Youth elected representative on the Central Council (CC) of the Labour Party.
The National Vice-Chairperson shall be responsible for Labour Youth's National Campaigns. The National Vice- Chair will form and chair the 'Campaigns Working Group' which shall be open to all Labour Youth members. The Vice-Chair must delegate extensively to individuals on the Campaigns Working Group and consult with the Campaigns Working Group on all Campaign strategy and formulation; taking guidance from the experience of its members and giving responsibilities to individuals on it for specific campaign co-ordination where their interest lies. The Campaigns Working Group shall meet at least 6 times a year.
The National Secretary shall be responsible for Labour Youth correspondence and the minutes of NYE and other Labour Youth meetings. The National Secretary shall also be responsible for fundraising and the keeping of proper accounts. The National Secretary shall within one week of all NYE and National Meetings publish a list of all actions decided upon.
The National Communications Officer shall be responsible for all Labour Youth Publications, including the website, information leaflets, posters and the newsletter. The National Communications Officer will form and chair the 'Communications Working Group' which shall be open to all Labour Youth members. The Communications Officer will operate the Communications Working Group as the publications team of Labour Youth assigning specific responsibilities to individuals on the Working Group to cover topics Labour Youth is involved in on an ongoing basis for the newsletter, website(s) and third party news websites
The International Officer shall:
1. Act as the primary representative for Labour Youth to both the ECOSY Bureau and to IUSY.
(i) In the event that the International Officer is unable to fulfil this role, the NYE may nominate an alternative member of Labour Youth to represent the organisation in their place.
2. Form and chair the 'International Working Group' which shall be open to all Labour Youth members.
(i)The International Working Group shall include specific project Coordinators, in order to ensure the longevity of the work of the committee.
(ii)A coordinator position shall be created by a majority vote of a National Meeting, all coordinators shall then be elected at a National Meeting. The mandate for each coordinator shall run until the following National Youth Conference.
(iii) The International Officer must coordinate the work of all Labour Youth International Coordinators, and of the International Working Group. Extensive delegation of subsections of policy is to take place to make use of the Coordinators in their specific policy area. Coordinators must then in turn involve members of the International working group in their work.
The National Recruitment Officer shall have primary responsibility for the planning, organising and the execution of recruitment campaigns. The Recruitment Officer will form and chair the 'Recruitment Working Group' which shall be open to all Labour Youth members. The Recruitment Officer must delegate extensively to individuals on the Recruitment Working Group responsibilities for coordinating with specific Labour Youth sections. The Recruitment Working Group will formulate all Recruitment strategies taking guidance from the experience of its members.
The National Policy & Education Officer shall be responsible for Labour Youth training policy development. The Policy & Education Officer shall become the Director of all Labour Youth organised seminars. The Policy & Education Officer will form and chair the 'Policy and Education Working Group' which shall be open to all Labour Youth members. The Policy & Education Officer must coordinate the production of all Labour Youth policy and training with the Policy and Education Working Group. Extensive delegation of subsections of policy is to take place and use of the experienced trainers on the Working Group for seminars is to be maximized.
The Youth & Development Officer shall be appointed by the Party Leader, on the approval of the Executive Board and will be responsible for the administration and organisation of Labour Youth and the social and educational activities of Labour Youth on a day to day basis. The Youth & Development Officer shall have attendance and speaking rights at all Labour Youth meetings but shall not have voting rights at such meetings or at National Youth Conference.
2. The NYE shall meet at least 15 times a year. Only the National Chairperson or the National Vice-Chairperson shall call to order a meeting of the NYE
3. The NYE shall decide on campaigns and strategies for Labour Youth.
4. The NYE shall ratify decisions on affiliation to other organisations. Such a decision may be amended or revoked by a simple majority of the National Meeting or National Youth Conference.
5. (a) It shall be the duty of every member of the Executive to uphold the good name of Labour Youth.
(b)In the event that an officer is missing from two meetings, without apology, they will be deemed to have resigned and will be replaced with a member of Labour Youth, chosen by a simple majority of the National Meeting.
(c) Where the NYE determines by a two-thirds majority that there are grounds to remove a member of the NYE for a breach of subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, the NYE shall make a complaint in that behalf to the General Secretary under Article 16 of the Party Constitution and that Article shall apply accordingly.
(d) In the event of a casual vacancy on the NYE, a National Meeting shall appoint a replacement National Officer without undue delay. The NYE should ensure that such vacancies are filled within thirty days. In the instance of the position of National Chair becoming vacant, the National Vice-Chairperson shall temporarily act as National Chair until the election of a new National Chair.
6. At the first National Meeting following National Youth Conference the following non-executive positions will be appointed by nomination and election. They shall not sit on the NYE but will report to each National Meeting and National Youth Conference.

a) The National Equality Coordinator shall be the Labour Youth representative to Labour Equality and shall be responsible for ensuring equality of access for all members; and working with the NYE and Labour Youth structures on issues related to this area.

b) The National Trade Union Coordinator shall be the Labour Youth representative responsible for increasing engagement with the Trade Union movement and for working with the NYE and Labour Youth structures on issues related to this area

 

Article Eight: National Meeting

1.The National Meeting of Labour Youth shall consist of all fully paid up members of Labour Youth, and members who are registered with head office at least one month in advance.
Each member of Labour Youth shall be entitled to vote on the basis of one member one vote
2 .The National Meeting shall meet to discuss Labour Youth Campaigns and Recruitment and to hold the National Youth Executive accountable to the membership between national conferences.
3. The National Meeting shall meet at least 5 times a year. Only the National Chairperson or the National Vice-Chairperson shall call to order a National Meeting.
4. An Emergency National Meeting of Labour Youth shall be called following the submission of a letter to the National Secretary and National Chairperson of Labour Youth calling for an Emergency National Meeting and signed by at least twenty paid up members of Labour Youth registered with Head Office for a period not less than one month. Such an Emergency National Meeting must take place no less than seven days and no more than twenty days after the submission of such a letter.

 

Article Nine: Trustees of Labour Youth

1. Following each National Conference of The Labour Party, the Executive Board shall appoint three trustees. These Trustees shall also be the trustees of Labour Youth and shall hold office on the same terms and conditions.
2. (a) All property and assets of Labour Youth shall vest in the trustees on their appointment.
(b) On the expiration of their term as trustee, all rights of ownership and/or possession of Labour Youth property and assets shall cease with immediate effect.
(c) During their period of office, a trustee must control Labour Youth's property and assets in accordance with the directions of the National Youth Executive (NYE). Any ultra vires act by a trustee shall be null and void.
(d) It shall be the duty of a trustee to refrain from any action injurious to the interests of Labour Youth. Where the NYE decides that there are grounds for considering that a trustee has infringed this provision, it shall make a complaint to the General Secretary under Article 16 of the Labour Party Constitution and that provision shall apply accordingly.

Article Ten: Finance

1. Every individual member of Labour Youth shall pay such annual Party membership fee as may be determined from time to time by the National Conference of the Labour Party.
2. Labour Youth may levy additional subscriptions from the members and shall have authority to raise funds in pursuit of its objectives.
3. The quarterly management account, and annual accounts of Labour Youth, shall be submitted to the Party Treasurer for review by the Labour Party Finance Committee.
4. The Labour Party shall allocate an annual budget to Labour Youth, taking into account expenditure projections agreed with the Party's National Treasurer.
5. The National Secretary of Labour Youth shall present audited accounts to each and every National Youth Conference.

Article Eleven: Head Office

1. (a) The Head Office of Labour Youth shall be the Head Office of the Labour Party.
(b) All records of Labour Youth including accounts, minutes, membership lists and correspondence, shall be kept in the Head Office.

Article Twelve: Amendment of Constitution

The Constitution of Labour Youth may be amended by a resolution expressed to be for that purpose and passed by a two-thirds majority at the National Youth Conference.

Article Thirteen: Interpretation

1. The National Youth Executive shall have the authority to decide on any matter in which the interpretation of this Constitution is doubtful and to make provision for any matter in which the Constitution is silent.
2. The National Youth Executive may from time to time make standing orders to enable this Constitution to have full effect