Minister Killeen opens conference on Workplace Partnership

Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 22 June 2006

The Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr Tony Killeen TD, today (Thursday June 22^nd 2006) opened a National Workplace Strategy conference on ‘Partnership: the next challenge – delivering workplace change and a better quality working life’. The aim of the conference, held in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, was to examine how the further development of workplace partnership can contribute to the goals of the National Workplace Strategy. The conference was designed to encourage debate and action across a range of substantive areas, such as workplace change, employee participation, organisational performance, and the quality of working life.

Speaking at the conference, which was organised by the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, Minister Killeen spoke of the benefits of the Partnership process in Ireland: “I know that for those engaged in the thick of the national talks, there were many challenges in keeping the process on track and it is a testament to their commitment and skill that agreement was reached. I believe that the agreement ‘Towards 2016’ sets out the right markers for Ireland to follow on its path to continued economic and social success. It contains challenges for all of us – Government, employers, employees, citizens. The Government undertakes this challenge willingly and energetically and will continue to work with the other stakeholders to achieve the aims of the agreement.”

Partnership was also an important element in the development of the National Workplace Strategy, which emerged from the Forum on the Workplace of the Future. The Minister commented that “the development and implementation of the National Workplace Strategy has been enhanced and energised by the fact that representatives from all facets of the workplace are involved and engaged. Identifying an appropriate workplace based response to the issues raised in the Strategy - such as lifelong learning - will require the full commitment of all the relevant workplace stakeholders.” Partnership is not useful only at times of crisis. “It is a way of thinking and behaving that can benefit the ongoing, day-to-day operations of any company, large or small,” the Minister said, adding that the Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act 2006 would “assist in embedding, at the level of the enterprise, the partnership mentality that has been so successful at national level.”

Commenting on quality working life, which includes a healthy and safe working environment, the provision of information and consultation to employees, the provision of appropriate training and socially responsible business, the Minister said that the modern workplace should make it easy for employees to learn and be trained so that they “have the skills to do the job they have and, more than that, the skills to do the job they may want tomorrow, or the job they may be forced to look for the day after that.”

As chair of the High Level Implementation Group charged with implementing the National Workplace Strategy, Minister Killeen was optimistic about the level of commitment among the social partners to meet the challenges ahead and to “support the emergence of the high performing, quality workplaces that will underpin Ireland’s future economic and social progress.”

Ends / LA 192

Notes to Editors

Information Note

Forum on the Workplace of the Future

The Forum on the Workplace of the Future was launched by the Taoiseach in July 2003. The role of the Forum was to engage in discussion and analysis on how workplaces can proactively adapt to competitive pressures, improve the delivery of services and meet the changing needs of employees. The Forum comprised a Taskforce and four Expert Panels which represented a wide range of State and private sector organisations.