Members of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) who are dissatisfied with the way in which the IEE will merge with the IIE have formed a pressure group to re-examine the process.
Over 200 members of the IEE, including over 90 Fellows, have joined to form the group, whose central complaint is the changing of the IEE Charter and its Bye-Laws, included when voting took place for the merger.
At last month's ballot, just over 25,000 of the IEE's 120,000 membership voted, with 75 per cent choosing to merge with the IIE.
A special general meeting has now been called by the group to force the IEE's Board of Trustees to address the group's points.
A spokesman for the IEE told Electronics Weekly: "Essentially what they're asking for is a review of the Royal Charter and Bye-Laws. We've received the request [for the SGM], which we take notice of."
However, today, October 17, the group reports that it has been refused access to minutes of a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the IEE at which the request for the SGM was debated.
Leading the calls for scrutiny of the changes to the IEE is Professor Colin Davidson, an honorary fellow of the IEE who served two years as vice-president of the Institution.
Much of his complaint relates to the operations of the IEE, and the relegation of the Council to "a consultative body", and the loss of representation of local branches on the Council.
Davidson also contends that "insufficient opportunity was allowed to debate the merits of the proposal once the details had been published".
More details of the group's complaints can be viewed at www.engineering-institution.org.uk
www.iee.org