POLICY REGARDING STUDY GROUP MEMBERS PAYMENT OF LOCAL AND IPA DUES


 

1.       A problem is created when a member of a Component Society withdraws from that Society to become a part of a Study Group. In order to retain Membership in the IPA the person who withdraws from a Component Society must pay IPA dues through that Society because IPA dues cannot be paid through a Study Group: Rules, Rule 4, Section B(2): “Study Groups are approved and overseen by the Board and do not collect or pay dues to the IPA.”

 

2.       For this reason the IPA Member who withdraws must remain a member of the Component Society. A difficulty arises when the Component Society requires the Study Group member from their Component Society to pay local dues to the Component Society. Historically the relationship between such an IPA Member and the Component Society varies from full participation in both to no participation in the Component Society and full participation in the Study Group. Further, the IPA Member of the Study Group must pay local dues to the Study Group. In short, this person may pay double local dues in order to retain IPA Membership. Arrangements have been made in the past by the Component Society to diminish local dues owed to them in proportion to the amount of participation in the Component Society, but this does not always occur resulting in ill will on both sides.

 

3.       Whereas both Component Society and Study Group have chosen to work within the framework of the IPA, the principle of IPA discretion applies to disputes between them in regard to local dues and other matters, and

 

4.       Whereas it is the view of Board that IPA Members who undertake the burden involved in forming a Study Group should pay significantly more local dues than other IPA Members is both unrealistic and unfair, the Board recommends:

 

a)      If there is a disagreement between IPA Members, who also belongs to a Study Group, and the Component Society to which they also belong, the two parties should negotiate a realistic and fair solution.

 

b)      If the two parties are unable to negotiate a mutually satisfactory solution within six months of notifying one another of the difference in opinion about local dues, either party must appeal within the next month to the ING Chair and the relevant ING Co-Chair copied to the IPA office: [email protected]  

 

c)      In circumstances where it is deemed impossible for both groups to come to an agreement and the arrangement is causing friction the ING Sponsoring Committee may recommend and the Board may consider awarding Direct Membership for those IPA Members.

 


Change log

Approved by the Executive Council January 2003

Amendments to officially allow those in Constituent Organisations to apply for Direct Membership approved by the IPA Board in July 2013

Removal of the term "Broomhills" approved by the IPA Board in January 2017



*This change record is for background information only and does not form part of the Procedural Code. If there is any conflict between a statement in the Procedural Code and a statement in this change record, the change record will be disregarded.