Everything you need to know about motions | Conference 2024

All about motions

Motions give delegates the opportunity to help shape Accord’s agenda for the next two years. They seek changes to the way in which members are managed, changes to terms and conditions of employment and improvements to their working environment.

They will typically be submitted by groups of members. Either by branches or department teams.

Motions must be submitted to Accord HQ by the deadline given by the union. They’ll then be considered by the Conference Standing Orders Committee (SOC).

Those that are accepted onto the agenda will usually be grouped together so that similar issues can be debated together.

We aim to debate all motions at conference, however where time doesn't allow for this to happen, motions that are undecided by conference will be remitted to the Principal Executive Council (PEC) to decide upon and take forward.

Once a motion has been presented to conference, we'll open up for debate for those that wish to speak either in favour or against the motion. After the debate has concluded, or the conference chair has brought the debate to an end, a vote will be taken.

How to write a motion

Here are some tips on what to consider when writing motions

Make your motion simple to follow – avoid technical terms & business jargon
Make it easy to understand – keep it clear and simple
Don’t try to explain everything at once – that’s what the supporting speech is for
Ask for an outcome and suggest a solution to the issue
Try not to criticise colleagues in other business areas – they may be at conference and you may need their support

Example motions

Unpaid overtime

THIS CONFERENCE opposes the working of unpaid overtime at all grades and in all of the Lloyds Banking Group. If overtime is necessary, Conference insists that the Group should always pay the overtime which is due at the agreed rate or offer time-off in lieu as an alternative.

Travel & mobility policy

THIS CONFERENCE asks Lloyds Banking Group to look at the travel policy in relation to travel time to work and to reduce this to one hour each way. At the moment, maximum travel time is unfair, especially where staff need to use public transport, so are likely to be within the distance policy but can spend up to 3 hours travelling to work for a 7-hour day.

Proposing a motion

If you’re proposing a motion, the key to success is planning. Understand what the motion is asking for and prepare what you want to say.

You’ll want to prepare a short speech to propose the motion. The purpose of your speech is to give other delegates enough detail to understand the motion, what’s being asked for, and why. You’re asking delegates to vote in favour of the motion so that it becomes union policy, so other delegates are going to want to know more than is written within the motion itself.

Top tips for proposing your motion:

Read the motion carefully and familiarise yourself with it.
You’ll need to let delegates who you are and where you’re from which will form the opening of your speech.
The motions have been simplified by the Standing Orders Committee (SOC) to focus on what the motion is asking for. So there’s plenty of room for you to expand, or give your own experience of the issue you’re proposing.
Plan what you want to say in advance and run it past another rep if you need to. You can include personal anecdotes or examples that relate to the motion to make your speech more powerful.
You’ve only got 3 minutes to propose the motion, and time flies by when you’re speaking. Practice your speech so you know what you want to say and to make sure you can do that in the allotted time.
You can just read the motion wording if you want to, but remember the purpose of conference is to ensure we have a democratic debate and you’ll want to give people food for thought. Remember, you’re asking other delegates to vote in favour of the motion.

Speaking in favour or against a motion

Delegates have the ability to speak either in favour or against a motion. To do this, a delegate needs to speak to conference and explain why they are in favour or against the motion.

Just like proposing a motion, the key to success is planning. Understand what the motion is asking for and prepare what you want to say. You have 2 minutes to make your speech, so you need to be brief and explain why you’ve reached your perspective on the issue.

You’ll need to let other delegates who you are, and where you’re from which will form the opening of your speech.

Keeping to time

The SOC have determined the length of time allotted for you to speak on a motion at conference 2024. Delegates proposing a motion have up to 3 minutes, and those speaking in favour/against a motion have up to 2 minutes. We’ll be operating a traffic light system which will be explained at the beginning of conference (the red light will show when you’ve run out of time). It’s important that speeches conclude on time so that we can fit all the conference business in that’s been set out on the agenda.

Need further support?

If you’re worried about speaking, have a chat with your lead rep who should have experience of how conference works – or chat to other reps who have been to conference before. If there isn’t anyone for you to speak to, drop us a line at [email protected] and we’ll ensure you have support.

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All about motions at conference 2024