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II SÉRIE — NÚMERO 66

the date, place, and time mat voting will take place. A copy of the notice of elections will be forwarded to COMUSFORAZ and AAC at the same time.

4 — The elections will be held in the work area during duty hours.

5 — A permanent employee's right to elect or be elected cannot be prejudiced by reason of his age or position.

6 — After approval by COMUSFORAZ and AAC, the electoral laws will be published concomitantly with the notice of the first elections which follow publication of this regulation.

7 — USFORAZ shall not be responsible for any expenses incurred incident to the elections.

Article 34 Constitution

1 —The Committee will be composed of 5 members.

2 —The Committee will advise COMUSFORAZ regarding employee interests and concerns.

3 — Without prejudice to the provisions of this regulation, the Committee members are entitled to the protection provided by internal Portuguese law to members of employee representative committees.

Article 35 Meetings with COMUSFORAZ

The Committee is entitled to meet with COMUSFORAZ or his designated representative once every month for discussion and review of matters within its area of responsability.

Article 36 Allowance of hours

1 — Committee members are entitled to twenty hours per month for exercise of their Committee activities. This allowance may not be carried over from one month to another. Additional hours, to a maximum of 40 hours per month, may be granted by COMUSFORAZ in unusual circumstances.

2 — Without prejudice to article 38, paragraph 5, and prior to exercising Committee responsibilities according to this article, Committee representatives must advise their supervisor prior to leaving the worksite of the time of their departure, their destination, the anticipated time of their return, and the fact that their absence is related to functions of the Committee.

3 — At all times not specified in paragraph 1 above. Committee members are required to perform their normal duties.

Article 37

Meetings of the work force (place and time)

The Committee may convene general meetings of the work force subject to the provisions of this regulation. These meetings will take place outside of the Air Base No. 4 area and during normal off duty hours.

Article 38 Rights of the Committee

1 — The Committee shall have the following specific rights and responsibilities:

a) Be provided a copy of the USFORAZ annual personnel report, in accordance with article 11;

b) Be provided a copy of the USFORAZ monthly report of personnel changes resulting from promotions, appointments, separations, and other circumstances in accordance with article 11;

c) Meet with COMUSFORAZ or his designated representatives every month, as provided by article 35;

d) Call general meetings of workers, in accordance with article 37;

e) To elicit input from the employees regarding work related matters;

/) To disseminate information to employees regarding work related matters;

g) Oversee elections for members to the Committee;

h) Be provided a copy of all proposed disciplinary actions in accordance with applicable Portuguese law as it pertains to dismissals; and

0 To otherwise represented the legitimate interests of the employees they represent at the levels of COMUSFORAZ, AAC and SRT.

2 — Prior to their implementation, the following will be submitted to the Committee for its review and comment:

a) Proposal for USFORAZ internal regulations, in accordance with article 5;

b) Proposal for USFORAZ uncommon tours of duty and changes to work schedules, in accordance with article 47;

c) Proposed changes to USFORAZ position classification standards and methods used for internal promotion;

d) Proposed changes to this regulation as provided by article 96, and

e) Proposed changes of a substantial nature in matters affecting employment and working conditions.

3 — Except for paragraph 2, b), above, the opinion referred to in the previous paragraph must be submitted within a maximum of 15 days from date of receipt of the request in writing. Responses to paragraph 2, b), will be required within 5 working days. These periods may be extended by mutual consent if the range and complexity of the matter so requires it.

4 — If an opinion is not submitted within the time periods referred to in the previous paragraph, the requirement specified in paragraph 2 will be considered fulfilled.

5 — The exercise of military and administrative authority on the part of USFORAZ, or its operations, cannot be prejudiced by the exercise of the Committee's rights and duties.