MINUTES OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

January 15th 1969

The 21st Annual General Meeting of the Birmingham Municipal Bank Staff Association on Wednesday, January 15th, 1969, was preceded by an Extraordinary General Meeting called to consider proposed amendments to the Staff Association Rules. Mr H W Powell, the Chairman, reminded the meeting that, as the Rules stand, 9 men, 6 women and the Editor of the Staff magazine are elected to the Committee by the members and the Committee is then completed by the co-option of all the Guild representatives as ex-officio members. The proposed amendment was that only one Guild representative should be co-opted.

The proposer announced that he was not a member of the Staff Association Committee and that he based his case solely on statistics from the Rule-book. The Rules provide that 9 men and 6 women shall be elected and, when the Rules were drawn up, this proportion of sexes was considered important; in those days there were three Guild representatives co-opted to advise and inform when required on Guild matters; there are now twice as many Guild representatives, all male, as the proportion of sexes is now 16 men to 6 women on a Staff Committee where half the staff are women. There was no criticism of the Guild or its representatives but a criticism of the Staff Association Rules that allowed its members to elect only two thirds of its own Committee.

The seconder confirmed that, had it been originally envisaged that the number of co-opted Guild members would double, some limit would have been placed upon their number. Mr J A Smith, supporting, noticed that a quorum for a Committee meeting was 10 and a Committee meeting could have a majority of Guild representatives. Mr J A Cox, vigorously opposing, pointed out that Guild representatives are not different to other members of the Bank Staff in any way and that, when they serve on the Staff Association Committee, they approach matters under discussion as conscientious members of the Staff and not a trade union block. Neither the Guild nor its representatives are making a take-over bid for the Staff Association; indeed, if they did not want to, there were easier and quicker ways of doing it. Mr Cox maintained that friendly relations had always existed between the Guild and the Staff Association and the passing of the motion could do great harm to this friendship.

The Vice-Chairman of the Staff Association, Mr B R Endall, warned of the danger in the power of persuasion of the eloquent Guild representatives when exercised upon young and inexperienced elected members of the Staff Committee, particularly when this eloquence  was backed by one third of the Committee members; Mr Endall was concerned that the independence of the Staff Association Committee could be lost if no limit was placed on the co-opted Guild representatives which had doubled and could increase further. The Rules of the Staff Association provide that the Guild are called in on matters of service conditions, there is, therefore, no necessity for this disproportionate representation. Mr Endall conceded that one representative was not sufficient and proposed an amendment to three, the amendment was seconded and the meeting heard Mr K N Whittaker, Past President of the Guild, Past Chairman of the Staff Association, who stated there could be no compromise on this, there would be either all the Guild representatives or none, he reminded the meeting that it is the job of the Guild to negotiate on service conditions with Chief Officers but that, due to the specialised nature of the work and out of respect for the Bank's Staff Association, the Guild allow the position where the Association discuss such matters with the General Manager direct; the Staff Association can do no more than discuss, it has no power to negotiate and, if there were no Guild representatives on the Staff Association Committee, the Guild would obviously have to take over trade union matters.

The proposer, in his right of reply, praised the power of persuasion of the Guild representatives and warned the meeting against it, both the amendment and the original motion failed to receive the votes of three quarters of those present and were lost; the Chairman expressed the opinion that the debate had served a useful purpose.

A second proposed amendment to the Rules to increase the subscriptions from threepence per week to sixpence per week was authorised after an attempt had been made to amend to fourpence. Some technical discussion took place on the effect of decimalisation but it was successfully argued that, as no increase had been made in subscriptions since the Association was formed, an increase to sixpence was justified. The Chairman declared the Extraordinary General Meeting closed and called the meeting to order for the 21st Annual General Meeting.

In presenting the Annual Report the Chairman gave a brief history of events from the time that the Birmingham Corporation Departments went on a five day week. The commercial banks had now announced that they would be closing their branches on Saturday mornings as from 1st July, 1969 and the Staff Association had reiterated the principle it had adopted some years ago, that, when the Joint Stock Banks go on a five-day week, so shall we, if pressures in this country are such that powerful commercial banking organisations find it necessary, six months from now, to close the doors to their customers on Saturdays without the courtesy of informing them of any alternative opening, then this Bank, for the same pressing reasons, must also close on Saturdays but we must announce alternative hours at the same time as we announce a decision to close. The Chairman said that informal discussions had taken place between the General Manager, the Deputy General Manager, and the Chairman and Secretary of the Staff Association who had been accompanied at the last meeting by Mr J A Cox representing the Guild. At the informal meetings attempts had been made to find a basis for negotiation at future formal meetings; the Bank Committee had not yet taken a decision on whether to close on a Saturdays, the Staff representatives had stated that, in the event of Saturday closing, the Staff desire one evening open per week only and the evening opening should not be Friday.