STATUTE
of the Workers’ Front of Latvia
adopted by the I Congress on April 21, 2019,
as amended by the II Congress on March 13, 2021.
1. Name of the Organization
1.1. The name of the Organization is “Workers’ Front of Latvia”.
1.2. The abbreviation of the name of the Organization is “WFL”.
1.3. Translation of the name of the Organization in Latvian is “Latvijas Strādnieku fronte”, or LSF.
1.4. Translation of the name of the Organization in Russian is “Рабочий фронт Латвии”, or РФЛ.
2. Goals and objectives of the organization
2.1. The WFL is a public Organization that unites workers on a platform of internationalism and Marxism, applying a scientific approach to the evaluation of social phenomena.
2.2. Goals of the Organization
2.2.1. the dissemination of philosophical and historical knowledge;
2.2.2. the study and popularization of scientific socialism;
2.2.3. promotion of trade union activities in Latvia;
2.2.4. promotion of democracy.
2.3. In order to achieve the goals stipulated in the charter, WFL has the right to carry out public activities, including freely distributing information about its activities, creating its own media, organizing meetings, marches and pickets, etc.; to conduct economic activities and other activities not contrary to the current regulatory acts.
3. Term of operation of the Organization
3.1. The Organization is established for an indefinite term.
4. Joining, withdrawal and expulsion of comrades from WFL
4.1. Any individual who accept the Statute and the Programme of WFL and wishes to contribute to the objectives of WFL may join WFL.
4.2. A written application is required to join the WFL. The type and form of the application and the list of documents to be attached to it are established by the WFL Board.
4.3 A candidate’s seniority is assigned when joining the WFL. It is six months for workers and one year for other candidates.
4.4. The primary organization at the next meeting considers the application to become a member of the WFL and decides whether to accept the applicant as a candidate for membership in the WFL. At the meeting of the primary organization at which the application is considered, the applicant must be invited and given the floor to express his motivation. Absence of the applicant is not a barrier to the decision. The decision of the primary organization is approved by the Council.
4.5. An applicant may appeal a negative decision of the primary organization and the Board to the general meeting (hereinafter referred to as the congress) in writing. If the congress also rejects the applicant’s application, the applicant is not admitted to the WFL and may reapply at the earliest after one year.
4.6. At the end of the candidacy period, the primary organization decides whether to admit a comrade as a member of the WFL, to refuse or to extend the candidacy period. The decision of the primary organization is approved by the Council.
4.7. In some cases, a candidate for membership in the WFL may be accepted as a member of the WFL ahead of schedule, but not earlier than after 3 months in the status of the candidate.
4.8. A member of the WFL may at any time freely withdraw from the WFL by notifying the primary organization in writing.
4.9. A member of the WFL may be expelled from the WFL if:
4.9.1. does not pay membership fees for more than 3 months;
4.9.2. does not comply with the decisions of the Congress, the Council and the Board;
4.9.3. fails to fulfill his duties and commitments;
4.9.4. by his public or other activities, discredits the WFL or causes significant harm to another member of the WFL, his interests or reputation in society.
4.10. The decision to expel a member of the WFL is made at a meeting of the primary organization in which he is a member. The decision of the meeting can be appealed to the Audit Commission, and the decision of the Audit Commission – at the WFL Congress.
4.11. The excluded member of the WFL must be invited to consider the issue of his exclusion in order to express his opinion. The non-appearance of the expelled comrade is not an obstacle to making a decision. The board must inform the expelled comrade of the decision to expel from the WFL and the motivation for this decision in writing within five days from the date of the decision.
5. Rights and obligations of WFL members.
5.1. A member of the WFL has the following rights:
5.1.1. participate in the management of the WFL, elect and be elected to the management bodies of the WFL;
5.1.2. receive full information on all issues of the WFL, including protocols, decisions and orders of all structures of the WFL;
5.1.3. freely participate in all meetings, congresses and other events organized by WFL, including electronic resources of WFL; make suggestions about WFL activity and its improvement, defend their opinion, discussing issues before making a decision;
5.1.4. address questions, suggestions and applications to any body of the WFL and receive answers on the merits.
5.2 A member of the WFL has the following responsibilities:
5.2.1. to comply with the WFL Charter and to fulfill the WFL program;
5.2.2. be a member of any of the primary organizations of the WFL;
5.2.3. obey all decisions of the WFL;
5.2.4. support the realization of the objectives of the WFL by their active participation;
5.2.5. pay membership fees in a timely manner.
5.3. The Congress or Council may establish other duties. When assigning duties to an WFL member that differ from those of other associates, the consent of that WFL member is required.
5.4. A candidate for WFL membership has all the rights and duties of an WFL member mentioned in the Articles, except for the right to vote, to elect and to be elected to the governing bodies and to the governing positions of WFL. A candidate for WFL membership may be restricted access to information which does not directly concern him.
6. Structural subdivisions of the WFL
6.1. By the decision of the WFL Board, territorial structural divisions of the WFL, called Primary Organizations, are established. The primary organizations are the backbone of the WFL.
6.2. The primary organization consists of at least three members of the WFL and operates on the principle of democratic centralism.
6.3. If the number of associates is less than 3, a cell may be formed within a particular primary organization.
6.4. A primary organization has the right to publish literature on its own behalf, to publish its materials on electronic resources, and to organize local events.
6.5. The primary organization shall elect a secretary and a deputy secretary at its meeting. The secretary of the primary organization becomes a member of the WFL Council.
6.6. The congress may decide on additional rights and responsibilities of primary organizations, which do not contradict the statutes.
7. Congress
7.1 The supreme legislative body of the WFL is the Congress.
7.2. All WFL members are entitled to participate in the Congress. Comrades may only participate in the congress in person.
7.3. The competence of the convention includes:
7.3.1. approval of reports of the Management Board, the Board and the Audit Commission of the WFL;
7.3.2. adoption of the WFL program;
7.3.3. amendments to the Charter;
7.3.4. election and recall of members of the Board and their candidates;
7.3.4. election and recall of members of the Board and their candidates;
7.3.4. election and recall of members of the Board and their candidates;
7.3.7. adoption of a decision on termination or reorganization of the WFL.
7.4. A regular convention shall be convened once a year
7.5. An Extraordinary Congress may be convened at the initiative of the Council or, if requested in writing by at least one-tenth of the WFL members, stating the reason for convening.
7.6. A written invitation is sent to each member of the WFL at least two weeks prior to the convention.
7.7 The Congress is competent to make decisions, if it is attended by at least half of all members of the WFL.
7.8. If the number of WFL members exceeds 100 people, the duties of the congress, to the extent specified in the statutes, are performed by the congress of representatives elected from the total number of members. The procedure for nominating and electing representatives, nominating representatives and electing representatives is established by the WFL Board, respecting the principle of proportionality. All WFL members have the right to participate in the election of representatives.
7.9. If the congress is not competent due to a lack of a quorum, a second congress shall be convened within five weeks, which shall be entitled to take decisions regardless of the number of people present, provided that at least two comrades participate.
7.10. The congress operates on the principle of democratic centralism. The congress decision is made if more than half of the present WFL members voted for it. The decision on changes in the charter, termination and continuation of the WFL is taken if more than two thirds of the present WFL members voted for it.
8. Council
8.1. Between Congresses, the highest legislative body of the WFL is the Council.
8.2. The Council is formed within a week after the next congress from representatives (secretaries) delegated by all primary organizations. If the secretary of the primary organization cannot participate in the meeting of the Council, another representative elected by the primary organization participates with the right to vote.
8.3. Board members elected by the congress shall be voting members of the Board. If a member of the Board resigns early, the Board shall be replenished by one of the candidates elected by the congress. The procedure for accepting candidates shall be established by the congress.
8.4. The Board operates on the principle of democratic centralism. Each Board member has one vote when voting.
8.5. The competence of the Council includes:
8.5.1. approval of decisions of the Primary Organizations on admission to the WFL;
8.5.2. development and approval of short-term WFL plans;
8.5.3. working out the order of nomination and election of representation at the congress of representatives according to clause 7.8 of the charter;
8.5.4. determination of the editorial board of the WFL central electronic resources;
8.5.5. imposing on a member of the WFL duties that differ from the duties of other comrades, according to clause 5.3 of the Charter;
8.5.6. changes, clarifications and additions to the order of payment of membership fees;
8.5.7. organization of joint WFL events;
8.5.8. performance of other duties related to the daily work of the WFL.
8.6. Council meetings are held at least once every two months
9. Board
9.1. The executive body of the WFL is the Board.
9.2. The Board consists of three Board members. The members of the Board are elected by the congress for the period until the next congress is convened. The Board elects a chairman, who organizes the work of the Board.
9.3. Each member of the Board has the right to represent the WFL only together with another member of the Board.
9.4. A member of the Board shall perform his duties without remuneration.
9.5. The Board shall manage the affairs of the WFL, organize the accounting of the WFL, manage the property of the WFL and dispose of its funds in accordance with the laws and decisions of the Congress and the Board, under the supervision of the Audit Commission.
10. Audit Commission
10.1. The Audit Commission, elected by the Congress for one year, oversees the financial and economic activities of the WFL. The Congress determines the number of members of the Audit Commission.
10.2. A member of the Audit Commission cannot be a member of the WFL Board.
10.3. The Audit Commission:
10.3.1. conducts an audit of the property and financial means of the WFL, evaluates the work of accounting and paperwork;
10.3.2. gives an opinion on the WFL budget and annual report;
10.3.3. makes recommendations to improve the financial and economic activities of the WFL;
10.3.4. supervises the work of the Board and the Council;
10.3.4. considers cases of non-compliance with the WFL program, statutes, instructions, orders and decisions of the management bodies of the WFL and imposes penalties;
10.3.5. protects the honor and dignity of members of the WFL by considering appeals.
10.4. The Audit Commission works according to the principle of democratic centralism. Each member of the commission has one vote in the voting. A decision is considered to be adopted, if more than half of the commission members vote for it.
10.5. The Commission conducts an audit at the time set by the Congress, but at least once a year. The Congress approves the annual report of the WFL only after receiving the conclusion of the Audit Commission.
10.6. The Auditing Committee reports solely to the Congress.
11. Membership fees
11.1. Members of the WFL pay membership fees once a month.
11.2. The amount and order of payment of membership fees is determined by the Congress of the WFL. Between Congresses, the WFL Council may make changes to the membership fee payment procedure.
