Annual Conference

The Annual Conference is the supreme policy-making body of the Association and is held each year in the month of June, with each member notified at least three months in advance.  Although voting at the Conference is by elected delegates only, all NZALPA members may attend and put forward their point of view.

Board of Management

Between each Annual Conference a Board of Management (BOM) governs NZALPA. 

The Board of Management is made up of three distinct groups to reflect the diverse nature of the membership.

The first group is the Union Officers who are the President, Vice President, Secretary, Industrial Director, Technical Director, IFALPA Director, Medical & Welfare Director and the ATC Director. With the exception of the Secretary all the Officers are elected by the members for 2 year terms with specific roles and powers laid down in the rules of the Association.

The second group is the Branch Representatives. There are 12 persons in this group with the positions being assigned to each branch proportional to the respective branches number of members. These positions have 1 year terms starting at the end of an Annual Conference and ending at the end of the next proceding Annual Conference.

The third group is the Council Representatives. Any council that has a union wide membership of 50 or more financial members may appoint a person to the Board of Management. As with the Branch Representatives the term is for one year starting and ending at the closing of each Annual Conference.

All members of the Board of Management that have been elected by the members in some way (either in a Principal Officer position or in a Branch Committee election) have the right to vote. All other members of the Board of Management are non voting members.

Branches

The Association is divided into four Branches. Northern Branch is that part of the North Island north of Wanganui river/Mohaka river. Central Branch is the remainder of the North Island to the south. Nelson Marlborough is that part of the South Island north of Clarence river/ Buller river. Southern Branch is the remainder of the South Island.

The role of the branches is to provide members with a representation vehicle based on geographical area. The Branches do not have equal numbers of members and at the moment there is wide variation in membership numbers. This apparent disparity is overcome by ratio representation to ensure that the membership as a whole is fairly represented.

NZALPA branches do not get involved in employment agreement negotiation. The negotiation task is left to employee group Councils and employed industrial officers. The function of each Branch is to produce elected representatives each year and provide an opportunity for the local members to meet, discuss and vote on issues that generally affect the whole union such as Conference remits.

The Branches provide a framework for the election of Board of Management representatives. The BOM representatives are selected from the Branch Committee members and the number of Branch Committee members is at a ratio of 1 per 50 Branch members. This framework is also used to elect Conference delegates at a ratio of 1 per 25 Branch members. Thus the proportionality of representation is assured for each geographical area but not necessarily assured for each employee group. This problem is addressed in a small way by entitlement. If a particular employee group within a Branch has 50 members (25 for Conference delegates) then an entitlement exists for one Branch representative position for that employee group. The Branch Secretary shall call for nominations for Branch and Conference delegates no later than March 1st each year.

Branches provide a safety valve feature for the union by having the power to act to remove any of their respective Branch representatives or Conference delegates. There is also a provision for the Branches to act together to remove Officers of the union.

The executive work of the union is carried out by the Principal Officers and the Board of Management on a day to day basis and by the Annual Conference in June each year. The Branches provide a conduit to the membership in a geographic area and help to encourage mutual support by giving members the opportunity to gather together in other than employee groups and thus avoid a narrowly focused agenda.

Reference to Branches may be found in NZALPA Rules PartVI Branches - Rules 54 to 74 inclusive.

Current population of the Branches 25 April 2008:

Councils

NZALPA is structured so as to ensure that groups of members employed by the same employer have the maximum opportunity to run their own day-to-day affairs, and therefore may form their own Council.

NZALPA Branches and Councils may organize their own affairs within the rules of the Association and the policies laid down by the Annual Conference or the Board of Management, but it should be noted that Branches and Councils are subject to control by the Board of Management.