minutes: 11 May 2001

	Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting: 11 May 2001 St Bernard's Education Centre, Edinburgh	action
	Present Roderick MacKenzie, Janey Mauchline, Fiona Norris, Tommy Doherty, Nora Conlin, May Boyd, Alastair Horne, Sheila Walker. Apologies Terry Ashton, Hugh Roche, Margaret Cooper, George Reid
	1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING R.M. brought copies of the last two meetings: FN to copy minute of 23rd Feb to committee. Minutes of the meeting of 2d April approved.	FN
	2. MATTERS ARISING Constitution has been retyped by RM. Hon.Sec and Advisers salaries sub-group to be dealt with as separate items on the agenda.
	3. CORRESPONDENCE RM had received a letter from John Chowcat of NAIAC which was passed to the salaries group and then to FN to file.	FN
	4. HONORARY PRESIDENT M.O'Neill had felt unable to accept this position at the present time, but indicated that lie might well be interested in the position at some point in the future. It was agreed that Lindsay Patterson should be approached; RM would telephone initially, and follow up with a letter. TD would put together some recent Press material and send to RM	RM TD
	5. CONFERENCES TD reported that he hadn't as yet had time complete the financial breakdown of this year's conference, but that the final figures would be tabled at the next executive meeting. FN had received the conference notes from JM but had no distribution list; NC to pass list of conference delegates to FN, who will then send out notes.	NC FN
	RM suggested that a new list of advisers should be compiled, and asked the committee to bring any lists they have to the next meeting.	ALL
	TD would like to see earlier dispatch of conference details; there was some discussion of method of payment, since the present system , combining conference and membership fees seemed to be open to confusion.Finally it was decided that Association members should be encouraged to pay fees by direct debit. NC to look into this and she would subsequently meet with RM to discuss.	NC RM
	There was some discussion of communications: RM suggested use could be made of an association website; TD suggested spending some money on good quality headed notepaper.
	6. SALARIES SUB-GROUP TD reported that the sub-group had met several times and had contacted Roy Bonnington of the EIS Network group. Their strategy has been to get as close as possible to the SNCT negotiations; of the 22 committee members responsible for deciding the future of Advisers pay ,not one is an adviser, which is discouraging. However, the SSTA have suggested that they might be prepared to go to the negotiating table with a test case. It was suggested that the EIS might be approached with this idea and AH agreed to do this on 18th May.	AH
	JM raised the question of contracts and there was a general discussion of the possible ramifications of the fact that most advisers have contracts which state that that they are linked to teachers pay and conditions. TD pointed out that advisers are, in fact, 'super-teachers", appointed as practitioners of acknowledged excellence and tat our salaries should recognise this 'value- added' component of our jobs. The committee were asked to send any examples of workload and contractual evidence which might help our case to TD.	ALL
	It was reported that the Press were sympathetic to bur case, and there was a possibility of Brian Boyd writing a platform article. SW reported that she had had a letter of support from the Director of Argyll and Bute pledging support.
	7. NEXT MEETING RM proposed that the next meeting of the group should be combined with an extraordinary general meeting of the association, in order to inform members about action taken so far to influence the outcome of the salaries negotiation and to raise general consciousness of the issues involved. Consequently, the venue was changed from Irvine, to the more centrally situated Auchterderran Centre, Fife.NC would organise the venue and would sent out a letter to all advisers to inform them of the meeting. It was suggested that the salaries subgroup would prepare a seminar pack, which would include the Jack McConnell letter. There would be a meeting of the group at The Dalmahoy Country Club on the 22nd May at 4.30. It was also suggested that if the Hon President were agreed by June, he might be asked to address the meeting.	NC JM TD AH NC
	It was agreed that FN would get in touch with Margaret Cooper to advise of the change of venue.	FN
	The next meeting of the committee would therefore be on June 26th, at the Auchterderran Staff Development and Resource Centre, at 9.45.

	this page last modified 05 February 2004