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ADMISSION

How one enters

One is admitted by name, on one’s own application, and never on account of origin, descent, faith or membership of a category. Any application may be refused with reasons given.

The path

1. 1. Individual application. Submitted by the person concerned. The governing body decides within thirty days and communicates the outcome in writing.
2. 2. Paid trial. Two to four weeks on the building site or in the workshop. It is paid because it is work, and it serves both sides to find out whether the thing holds.
3. 3. Apprenticeship. Fixed-term contract, with written start and end dates. At the end the path is completed or continues.
4. 4. Vote. After six months of apprenticeship, the majlis decides on admission to membership with full voting rights. There is a vote, and the vote may be negative: nobody acquires membership by the mere passage of time. A refusal is reasoned in writing and does not terminate the apprenticeship contract in progress. From that moment the others call him rafīq, companion, which is the everyday name of the house.

Who may apply

Only adults. No minor is admitted to common life, to lodging, to work shifts or to the building site. Educational activities addressed to the young people of the area take place during the day, without overnight stays, in spaces distinct from those of common life, and normally at schools or training institutions of the territory. The residential community and the education of minors are two distinct trades, with distinct obligations.

What one accepts by signing

On admission each signs the statutes and the rules, which lay down the hours and the discipline of work, the conduct expected in the common spaces, the terms of the apprenticeship, the ownership of the tools and of what is produced, the grounds and procedure for exclusion, and the arbitration clause.

One also accepts four things in one’s own favour, which no future assembly can take away without everyone’s consent: admission by application, the absence of a residence requirement, free withdrawal, and reciprocity.

How one leaves

The rafīq withdraws at any time by written notice, without penalty or payment, keeping his own tools and whatever he has accrued. He owes no explanation, loses nothing beyond membership, and is bound to no notice period beyond what his employment contract, if any, provides.

Exclusion

Exclusion is resolved by the assembly for serious breaches, after written notice of the charges and the granting of a period of not less than fifteen days for the defence; the member concerned does not take part in the vote. An appeal against exclusion lies to the arbitral panel within thirty days.

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