Minister Martin Addresses Seminar on ‘Work-Life Balance – How to Make it Work’
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin today (Monday 13th June 2005) addressed the National Framework Committee for Work Life Balance seminar in Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork. This, the 3rd in a series of regional seminars, attracted key business leaders and employee representatives from the Munster region.
Minister Martin said “Work-life balance is not just about limiting the number of hours spent at work. It is also about giving people a degree of autonomy as to how their working time is managed. Where agreed flexible working arrangements are in place a win-win situation can exist for employers and employees with tangible benefits for all. I urge you to actively explore the options available in a positive frame of mind and to seek to realise the benefits.”
The seminar is targeted at employers and employee representatives to raise awareness of the importance of work life balance policies at the level of the enterprise. Delegates at the seminar were presented with two case studies outlining the work life balance arrangements in place from both the employer and employee perspective. They also heard from senior IBEC, ICTU and Equality Authority representatives.
Donagh Corcoran, IBEC’s Regional Director, Cork said "Greater employment levels in the future will create challenges for the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities. In Ireland, Government, the business community and society as a whole will have to prepare for the challenges ahead by making choices now and identifying key priorities if we are to be ready for the changes that will result"
Niall Crowley, CEO of the Equality Authority stated that “More and more couples with children are both working. Carers, people with disabilities and migrant workers are increasingly present in the Irish workplace. Good business performance and employee well being, in this context of diversity, demands that we pay greater attention to work life balance issues.
We need to improve statutory leave entitlements for parents and carers. We need to stimulate and support a greater workplace commitment to flexibility. This could usefully be assisted by introducing a requirement on employers to make reasonable accommodation for the special needs of employees from across all nine grounds covered under the equality legislation”.
Also attending the seminar was Sally Anne Kinahan, Director of Advocacy and General Services, ICTU who said that “Achieving Work-Life Balance is not just a worthy goal, it is a very necessary one. Work and life have changed dramatically over the last decade – our work culture and environment must change to reflect this. Working people now face the strain of longer commuting times and ongoing problems with regard to childcare. Given these pressures and constraints, Congress believes that it is time to introduce a statutory Right to Flexible Working. In other words, to give legislative underpinning to that which so many working people require in order to properly balance work and family life.”
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Note for Editors
Background on the Committee
The National Framework Committee for Work/Life Balance Policies, formerly known as the National Framework Committee for Family Friendly Policies was established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and continued under Sustaining Progress on the recommendation of the Social Partners.
The Committee comprises representatives from IBEC, ICTU, the Equality Authority, a number of Government Departments including the Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Social Welfare and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and is chaired by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Role of the Committee
The Committee, under Sustaining Progress, is charged with supporting and facilitating the development of family friendly policies at the level of the enterprise through the development of a package of practical measures that can be applied. One of the tasks of the Committee is to examine how best to improve access to family friendly working arrangements in order to realise the potential benefits that these arrangements would offer from both an equality and competitiveness perspective.
The National Framework Committee has undertaken a range of activities to date: -
- Family Friendly Workplace Day or Work Life Balance Day, as it is now known, has been an annual event since 2001.
- Direct financial assistance has been given to individual organisations to assist these organisations in implementing or enhancing work/life balance working arrangements.
- In conjunction with this, the Committee also provided assistance to organisations, through the establishment of a panel of consultants, which were put in place to provide assistance to employers in implementing new working arrangements or developing existing work/life balance working arrangements.
- An interactive website has been set up on behalf of the Committee by the Equality Authority.
- Both ICTU and IBEC have developed resources to assist their members in furthering work/life balance at the level of the enterprise.
- Other information dissemination and exchange activities have been undertaken, including the hosting of seminars at national and regional level, the publication of newsletters, leaflets etc.
- A number of very useful pilot projects and research projects including “Off the Treadmill – Achieving Work Life Balance” have been commissioned by the Committee or undertaken on behalf of the Committee.
ENDS
Last modified: 13/06/2005
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