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The NAME of the Guild is THE KNIFEMAKERS’ GUILD OF SOUTHERN
AFRICA.
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The OBJECTIVES of the Guild are the following: |
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a)
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To watch over and advance the interests of members. |
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b)
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To establish closer relations and associations
between members. |
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c)
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To mediate between members or between members and their
clients and adjust and settle differences between them
whenever called upon by such members or clients to do so. |
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d)
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To set and maintain standards of conduct and workmanship
amongst members. |
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e)
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To do all such other things as are incidental or conducive
to the attainment of these objects. |
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Only applicants who make knives shall be considered for voting
membership of the Guild. |
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a)
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A candidate for membership must submit with his written
application at least 5 (five) examples of his work to the
Executive Committee and an application fee to be determined
by the Executive Committee, which amount is not refundable.
The applicant shall state when he started making knives. |
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b)
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The Executive Committee will in its sole discretion decide
whether the applicant is to be accepted as a member. In
arriving at its decision the Executive Committee shall
consider the workmanship, design and quality of materials
used in the examples submitted. |
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c)
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The Executive Committee shall give the applicant written
notice of the acceptance or rejection of his application.
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d)
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The new member shall attend and exhibit at the first
AGM and Show immediately after membership acceptance
advice provided such advice is not within three months
of such AGM & show .If acceptance advice is within
three months this ruling then applies to the first AGM
& Show thereafter.
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e)
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All members are required to attend at least one out off
three consecutive AGM’s. |
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f)
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All Members are required to attend at least one out of
three consecutive Annual Shows. |
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g)
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Failure to comply with Rules (e) & (f) above without
good reason submitted to and accepted by the Exco prior
to the event, can result in disciplinary steps taken
against the offending member in terms of Article 13
below.
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h)
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Any member shall, at any stage of membership, when requested
to do so by the Executive Committee, submit to the Guild
5 (five) knives for re-evaluation.
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i)
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Any member who is unable to continue making knives due
to old-age and/or deteriorating health but wishes to
continue membership will, following a written request
to the Executive Committee, be considered for continued
ordinary membership, without voting rights but all other
privileges remaining unchanged. Such members will not
be obliged to pay the prescribed annual membership fee
as envisaged in article 8.
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j)
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Membership shall cease upon death, resignation or expulsion
in terms of the constitution. |
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a)
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The affairs of the Guild shall be managed by an Executive
Committee. |
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b)
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The Executive Committee shall consist of a chairman, a
vice-chairman and four members elected by majority vote. |
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c)
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The chairman of the Executive Committee shall be elected
by majority vote, shall hold office for a period of one
year and will be eligible for re-election. |
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d)
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The new Executive Committee shall at its first meeting
elect such office bearers as it may deem necessary and
may for this purpose co-opt other members of the Guild
to fill the post or posts. |
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e)
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In the event of any vacancy or vacancies occurring on
the Executive Committee the remaining members of the Executive
Committee shall have the power to fill any such vacancy
from the members of the Guild. The members so appointed
shall hold office on the same terms and only for the remaining
term of the member whose place he takes. |
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f)
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At an Executive Committee meeting 3 (three) members shall
be required to form a quorum. |
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The EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE shall conduct all the affairs of the Guild.
Without limiting their rights of management the Executive Committee
shall have the following special powers: |
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a)
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To convene meetings. |
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b)
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To hold and have the custody and control of the funds
and the property of the Guild. |
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c)
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To open, should it deem necessary, a banking or savings
account. |
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d)
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To appoint sub-committees and delegate any of its powers
to such sub-committees. |
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e)
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To do all other things that it may consider conducive
to the interests or good management or the promotion of
the objectives of the Guild. |
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a)
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The Executive Committee shall have full power and authority
at any time to call meetings of the Guild on such notice
as it may deem fit. |
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b)
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A quorum of members at a meeting called in terms of Article
6 a) or 6 c) shall be not less than 15 (fifteen) members
present within 15 (fifteen) minutes of the time appointed
for such meeting. Should there be no quorum present at
such meeting, the meeting shall stand adjourned until a
date to be agreed upon at such meeting (for which purpose
those present shall constitute a quorum) and at such resumed
meeting those members present shall form a quorum regardless
of their number. |
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c)
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Upon the receipt of a requisition signed by not less
than 15 (fifteen) members, the Executive Committee shall
convene a Special Meeting to consider the matters mentioned
in the requisition. Should there be no quorum present at
any such meeting it shall be adjourned. |
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No member of the Guild shall be personally liable for any of the
debts or engagements of the Guild and no assets of the Guild shall
at any time vest in any member or former member thereof. |
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a)
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Funds will be obtained by means of fees for membership
application, membership fees, voluntary contributions,
fines, donations and from any other source the Executive
Committee may deem fit. |
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b)
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All funds of the Guild shall be applied for the purpose
of giving effect to the objectives of the Guild in accordance
with (these rules) this Constitution. |
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c)
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Each member shall pay, on or before the 1st March of
each year, an annual membership fee as determined by the
Executive Committee. |
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d)
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Should a member fail to pay the annual membership fee,
and remain in such default for a period in excess of
3 (three) months, he must be notified in writing of
such default.
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e)
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Should a member fail to pay the annual membership fee
within 30 (thirty) days of such notice, his membership
of the Guild will automatically cease.
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a)
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Every voting member of the Guild shall have 1 (one) vote.
Voting by proxy shall be permitted. In the event of an
equality of votes the chairman shall have a casting as
well as a deliberative vote. |
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b)
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The majority at any meeting may demand that voting be
by ballot. |
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The constitution may be amended, altered or added to at any meeting
of the Guild specially called for such purpose. Any such alterations
or additions shall not be deemed to be passed unless approved by
two-thirds of the members present at such meeting, and members voting
by proxy. |
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Notices to members shall be deemed to be properly given if addressed
to the address supplied to the Executive Committee by such member. |
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a)
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Upon receiving a complaint in writing about the standard
of workmanship or quality of materials used by a member,
the Executive Committee must inform the member of the fact
that a complaint has been lodged against him/her. |
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b)
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Should the Executive Committee, after inspecting the knife
or knives that gave rise to the complaint as well as any
other knives that the Executive Committee may require the
member to submit (in order to properly assess the complaint),
find that the member is at fault, the member must rectify
the problem which gave rise to the complaint in a manner
to be determined by the Executive Committee. |
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c)
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The Executive Committee may, after inspecting the knife
or knives that gave rise to the complaint, find for or
against the member. Should the Executive Committee find
that the member is at fault, he/she must rectify the problem
which gave rise to the complaint, in a manner to be determined
by the Executive Committee. |
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d)
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Should the member fail to comply with the instructions
of the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee may
take whatever disciplinary action against the member that
it deems fit, including suspension or expulsion. |
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a)
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The Executive Committee may draw up a code of conduct
to set ethical standards to which members must conform
in their dealings with their customers in the dealings
with customers and in their conduct as members of the guild
in general. |
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b)
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If a member conducts himself in a manner unbecoming a
member of the Guild or if a complaint against a member
is lodged with the Guild, the Executive Committee may judge
the member’s actions after hearing representations
by the member on the complaint (if the member wishes to
make representations) and if found not to conform to the
code of conduct, may fine, suspend or expel such member.
Fines are limited to a maximum of 5 (five) times the annual
Guild membership fee. |
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c)
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| A member shall at all times maintain a professional
attitude towards clients, attempting in all his
dealings with them to bring credit to himself,
the Guild and knifemaking in general. To this
end each member shall, inter alia: |
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i)
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Communicate with his client at such
intervals as are necessary to ensure
that the client is kept informed of
the progress of any orders he has
accepted, especially when the proposed
delivery time cannot be complied with.
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ii)
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A member shall honor all promises
made to clients. In the event that
he is not able to do so , the client
must be informed in writing.
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iii)
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A member shall not contravene any laws
of the country in his dealings with clients. |
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A member disciplined under Article 14 b) may appeal to the Guild
at the next general meeting. The members may, by a two-thirds majority
vote, overrule the Executive Committee’s decision and may expel,
fine, suspend or declare the offending member innocent. |
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a)
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There will be a special class of membership to be known
as associate membership. Save as provided for in Article
16 b) below, an associate member will not be granted the
voting rights of a full member of the Guild, nor will an
associate member be eligible to serve on the Executive
Committee. Associate members may, however, be co-opted
by the Executive Committee to serve on sub-committees.
An associate member shall receive notice of all meetings
of the Guild and shall be entitled to attend and participate
in the meetings. |
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b)
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If approved by unanimous vote at an annual general meeting
of the Guild, an associate member may be appointed as a
member of the Executive Committee, in which event, the
associate member shall have the voting rights of a full
member of the Guild as envisaged in Article 10 above for
the term of his service on the Executive Committee. |
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c)
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An applicant for associate membership shall apply in writing
to the Secretary of the Guild stating his qualification
for associate membership together with an application fee
in an amount to be determined by the Executive Committee,
which amount is not refundable. |
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d)
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The Executive Committee will in its sole discretion decide
whether the applicant is to be accepted as an associate
member. The Executive Committee shall give the applicant
written notice of the acceptance or rejection of his application
without stating any reasons for such decision. |
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e)
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Associate membership shall cease upon death, resignation,
expulsion or when the associate member loses his qualification
for being an associate member. |
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f)
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| Only an applicant falling within the ambit of
one or more of the following classes of persons
may qualify for associate membership: |
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i)
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Artists who by virtue of their craft
embellish or adorn the products of
knifemakers;
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ii)
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Collectors of handmade knives.
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iii)
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Suppliers of knifemaking materials,
tools or machinery to knifemakers; |
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a)
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There will be a special class of membership to be known
as honorary membership. Save as provided for in Article
16 b) below, an honorary member will not be granted the
voting rights of a voting member of the Guild, nor will
an honorary member be eligible to serve on the Executive
Committee. Honorary members may, however, be co-opted by
the Executive Committee to serve on sub-committees. An
honorary member shall receive notice of all meetings of
the Guild and shall be entitled to attend and participate
in the meetings. |
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b)
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If approved by unanimous vote at an annual general meeting
of the Guild, an honorary member may be appointed as a
member of the Executive Committee, in which event, the
honorary member shall have the voting rights of a voting
member of the Guild as envisaged in Article 10 above for
the term of his service on the Executive Committee. |
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c)
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A person who has actively furthered the cause of knifemaking
in the interests of the Guild may be nominated by the Executive
Committee for honorary membership. Such a person becomes
an honorary member if his nomination is approved by the
majority of the voting members present at a meeting of
the Guild. |
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d)
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Honorary membership shall cease upon death, resignation
or expulsion by the majority of the voting members present
at a meeting of the Guild. |
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a)
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The three founding members of the Guild, PC Grey, ZA de
Beer and OD Wood will be honorary member of the Guild but
with all the rights and privileges of a voting member of
the Guild. |
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b)
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The founding members shall not be obliged to pay the
prescribed annual membership fees as envisaged in Article
8 c) |
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