The attached letter from Captain ???? to the General Committee is self explanatory. An independent sponsor has come forward and offered substantial funding for the purpose of assisting with financing the legal actions. The extent of this supplementary funding is such that it may well be possible to reduce membership subscriptions whilst continuing to fund the 49er legal actions and subsistence without the need for any Special Levies.
This is obviously a significant development which deserves careful assessment before the Membership is asked to vote on changes to subscriptions or special levies. It is proposed that a fair and representative Sub-Committee be formed to evaluate and report to the Membership on the financial position of the Association with respect to the 49er Legal Cases and in particular the budgeting of the Supplementary legal funding recently offered. Obviously it would be inappropriate for the Membership to vote on the need for special levies before the Sub-Committee has completed their assessment and reported to the Membership.
HKAOA Rule 8.6 states that “the General Committee may, and shall, upon a written requisition signed by not less than one tenth of the number of Members entitled to vote for the time being, convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association.”
It is proposed that the EGM scheduled for 13th April 05 be postponed by petitioning the GC to convene an EGM to vote on the motion below. If you are in agreement with this initiative please print out this email (or page 1 of the document attached), sign and fax to +852 . Once petitions are received from the required 10% of the membership (92 members) they will be presented to the General Committee.
Requisition for Convening an EGM of the HKAOA
In accordance with HKAOA Rule 8.6 I hereby petition the General Committee to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association prior to 13th April 2005 and to put the following motion to the Membership:
Be it resolved that the EGM scheduled for 13 April 05 be postponed until such time as a Sub-Committee evaluates and reports to the Membership on the financial position of the Association with respect to the 49er Legal Cases and in particular the budgeting of the Supplementary legal funding recently offered. Be it further resolved that the Sub-Committee consist of 6 persons: two General Committee Members, two 49ers and two other Full Members; one "other Full Member" to be appointed by the General Committee and the "other Full Member" to be appointed by the 49ers, neither "other Full Member" to be a General Committee Member nor a 49er.
Signed:
Name:
Membership Number:
Date:
Letter to the GC:
The President & General Committee
Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association
Haiphong Road
Kowloon
10th March 2005
APRIL EGM
Gentlemen
I write to you all regarding the upcoming EGM scheduled for April in which a number of motions regarding financial assistance to the 49ers are intended to be tabled. Naturally this is a matter of the utmost importance, not only for the 49ers but for the Membership as a whole.
There exists a concern that there are a number of recent developments of which you may not be aware and, therefore, that may not have been taken into account during your deliberations prior to deciding upon the current course of action. Some of these are summarised below.
1. Australian Court Case
At a directions hearing held at the end of February last, the judge set a court date of 6th March 2006 for the case to be heard and set aside 4 weeks for the hearing. This hearing will rule on all matters, both substantive and jurisidictional. In addition, she also set a very detailed timetable of procedural steps to be completed between now and the hearing itself. Now that a specific timetable for this case is available, this facilitates the construction of a more accurate cash flow and business plan regarding possible funding requirements.
2. UK Court Case
The case in the Appeal Court is to be heard on either Monday 14th March or Tuesday 15th March 2005 in the Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, London. This will determine once and for all the issues of jurisdiction. The only possible further avenue of appeal available to either party is the highest court in the land, the House of Lords. In any event, the hearing in the Appeal Court will make case law and set precedent. This is a very significant development on its own. In addition, however, it also has a direct bearing on possible future funding requirements depending on the outcome. Therefore, the view can be held that it would be premature to make irrevocable decisions on funding matters until the result of this hearing is known.
3. Supplementary Funding
Very recently, an independent sponsor has come forward and offered substantial funding for the purpose of assisting with financing the legal actions should this be required. Negotiations on this offer are at an advanced stage and should be completed within the next 3 to 4 weeks. Given that the GC is presently considering a financial plan for the way forward, this is obviously a significant development which should be taken into account.
4. Membership
A significant number of Members, have approached the 49ers and given undertakings to the effect that, should the Association decide to cease funding assistance, they will leave the Association and pay the equivalent of their membership dues directly to the 49ers in order that financial assistance may continue. In addition, it is understood that plans are already in hand to set up an alternative union in such a situation. This is a very serious matter and has significant ramifications for the future viability of the Association itself given that its Membership and finances are already depleted.
Might I suggest that an evaluation of these and other matters be completed by a subcommittee and its report be circulated to the Membership for consideration prior to any irrevocable motions being put to the vote. Might I also suggest that the sub-committee consist of 6-persons: two General Committee Members, two 49ers and two other Full Members; one each “other Full Member” to be chosen by the General Committee and the 49ers respectively, although each may be neither a General Committee Member nor a 49er.
It is strongly recommend that until the General Committee has had the opportunity to properly evaluate these matters, it would be entirely inappropriate for the Membership to be asked to decide on the need for special levies.
Yours sincerely