Address by Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, at the Launch of ‘National Family Friendly Workplace Day’ on Thursday 1st February 2001 in the Equality Authority Headquarters, Dublin

I would like to thank the National Framework Committee for inviting me to officially launch National Family Friendly Workplace Day which will take place on Thursday, 1st March next.

This is a great initiative and I am here today to give it my full backing and to encourage as many people as possible to use Thursday, 1 March to learn more about how family friendly arrangements could be of benefit to their companies or their working lives.

The National Family Friendly Day is the first step in a major public awareness programme among employers and trade unions about introducing family-friendly policies in their workplaces. An important aim is to inform people about sources of information, and I am delighted that on March 1st, an interactive website, containing information and case studies on family friendly policies in the workplace, will be launched.

This initiative owes its origins in framework agreements included in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.

A National Framework Committee, composed of IBEC, Public Sector Employers and ICTU have the task of devising policies that are relevant to the workplace and which can meet the diverse needs of employers as well as employees. It is clear that family friendly policies which are developed must

• help to reconcile work and family life; and
• contribute to the effective and efficient operation of the enterprise.

The work of the Committee is a timely reminder that there has always been much more to the social partnership process than pay issues. In fact, the discussion about family friendly policies show that quality of life issues are increasingly important as the days pass and employee expectations of work change dramatically. Seen in this way, the PPF can be a catalyst to meet this challenge which has important implications for our economy, our society and for our work to promote equal opportunity for all our people. Personally, I believe that well designed family-friendly arrangements can be a win-win for both employees and employers as well as for families.

For employers, these benefits include: retention of skilled staff; reduced absenteeism; improved productivity; and a more highly motivated work force. Employees on the other hand benefit through greater prospects to better balance their working and family lives; greater equality of opportunity between men and women; and a fairer sharing of family responsibilities between men and women. Of course, alongside the labour market and business case, is the very compelling equality case for family friendly work arrangements.

We all know that there has been a very significant rise in participation by women at work outside the home. However, if we do not address caring issues - for example how they are shared between men and women: or how family and work responsibilities are managed - this new situation may end up being a source of stress to women and lower their quality of life.

Family Friendly workplace arrangements can address this issue if they are effectively applied. I think that they must be applied in a way that brings no negative consequence to the career prospects of those who take them up. This is vital. If not, all we will do will be to address inequalities in labour market participation but worsen inequalities in labour market position and career.

Therefore, I believe that we will all have to get more serious, stop seeing this as an issue for women only and stimulate a more equal take up of these measures by men and women. If this is not done, we may achieve labour market equalities but we may reinforce inequality at home.

Finally, by focusing on the equality aspects of family friendly work arrangements we are giving a lead about the need for flexible working practices across the wider equality agenda. I am thinking here of the work to be done to promote participation by older people and people with disabilities in the labour market. In short, this awareness day is an important first step to building awareness of the importance of creating a better work-life balance as a key to improved quality of life in our communities and in our families.

This is an approach that is now being developed in many of our most progressive businesses and we all have to take a lead from them.

The social partnership process served us well in the past when dealing with a particular set of economic and social circumstances. Clearly, it will continue to do so, since it is evolving to deal with different circumstances and new challenges.

I would like to thank you again for inviting me here today and also to thank the National Framework Committee for all it has achieved so far. I am confident that the National Family Friendly Workplace Day will be a great success and will stimulate a great deal of interest in the introduction of family friendly policies in workplaces throughout the country.