Minister Killeen publishes 2nd progress report on National Workplace Strategy
“Report highlights significant new initiatives to support workplace change and innovation in the public and private sectors.” – Killeen
The Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr. Tony Killeen, T.D., today (Thursday April 26th 2007) published the Second Report of the High Level Group established to implement the National Workplace Strategy. The report outlines key developments in implementing the Strategy’s recommendations since the Group last reported.
The High Level Group, which is chaired by Minister Killeen, involves key Government Departments and agencies working together with the social partners to support workplace change and innovation in the public and private sectors.
“I am happy to be able to report that, building on the endorsement of the work of the Group in the Framework Social Partnership Agreement Towards 2016, we have seen significant progress and the launch of important new initiatives across the five strategic priority areas of the National Workplace Strategy’’ Minister Killeen said.
The Minister welcomed the fact that the National Workplace Strategy has reached an important juncture, where the messages and objectives agreed and adopted at a national level by Government and the Social Partners are now to be targeted at workplace level to employees, trade unions and managers across the public and private sectors. “ The new Workplace Innovation Fund will play an important role in supporting this process” the Minister said.
The Minister commented: “The real success of the National Workplace Strategy will be measured in terms of how it succeeds in influencing meaningful change at the level of the workplace. While this is no easy task, we have every reason to be optimistic. We know from our long experience with social partnership that our capacity to solve problems and overcome challenges is best served by working together. The Strategy gives us a unique opportunity to turn our creative problem-solving instincts into a source of sustained competitive advantage.”
Key achievements
Today’s Report highlights the work and achievements of the High Level Implementation Group since the launch of the National Workplace Strategy and focuses on a number of significant developments across the Strategy’s five priority themes since the Group last reported.
Promoting Workplace Innovation
In January 2007, the Taoiseach announced the establishment of the Workplace Innovation Fund with funding totalling ¤9 million over a three-year period. The fund will have three elements: support for workplace innovation initiatives in the private sector; support for Social Partner initiatives in pursuit of the National Workplace Strategy; and the launch, in May of this year, of a major campaign to raise awareness of the Strategy among employers and employees across all sectors of the economy.
Promoting capacity for change
The report highlights a number of developments in the areas of support for leadership and management development, employee information and consultation, employee financial involvement and the work of the National Centre for Partnership and Performance.
Developing future skills
Key developments include the increased funding being provided for training and lifelong learning activities and the publication of the Fifth Report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs detailing the nature and extent of the challenge in upskilling the labour force to the requisite levels.
Access to Opportunities
The 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, involving publication by the Equality Authority of a national strategy for Ireland, and progress on new initiatives to recruit people with disabilities and support women returning to the workforce as well as the new arrangements for migrant workers under the Employment Permits Act 2006 are noted.
Quality of Working Life
Progress on the issue of workplace bullying, including the launch of a new Code of Practice from the Health and Safety Authority and the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority on an interim basis are among the significant developments
The Report, which was presented to Government this week, shows that the National Workplace Strategy provides an important forum for building cohesion between Government and the Social Partners on a wide range of policy areas critical to building higher performing organisations.
Minister Killeen commented: “I am once again grateful to the members of the High Level Implementation Group who continue to make progress on a wide range of initiatives that will, ultimately, contribute to the development of a better level of workplace innovation’’
ENDS/LA235
Notes to Editors
National Workplace Strategy
The National Workplace Strategy emerged from the Forum on the Workplace of the Future, which was established by Government in 2003 to assess the readiness of Ireland’s workplaces to meet the challenges of our emerging knowledge economy. The Forum conducted an intensive examination of the issues facing workplaces in Ireland, based on extensive consultation, research and analysis. In March 2005, with the tripartite endorsement of Government, employers’ bodies and the trade union movement, the National Workplace Strategy was launched by An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, T.D. Its central proposition is that Ireland’s competitiveness as a knowledge-based economy will depend significantly on the capacity of organisations to achieve transformative change through innovative work practices. It also argues that workplace innovation is a key pillar of our national innovation system and should be treated as a strategic priority by policy makers. Focused on five priority areas – Workplace Innovation, Capacity for Change, Developing Future Skills, Access to Opportunities and Quality of Working Life – the Strategy contains 42 separate recommendations for specific action to transform the Irish workplace in the coming years.
High-Level Implementation Group
Established in March 2005 to oversee implementation of the National Workplace Strategy, the High Level Implementation Group is and chaired by Mr.Tony Killeen, TD, Minister for Labour Affairs, and is composed of senior representatives from the following entities:
- Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
- Department of the Taoiseach
- Department of Finance
- Department of Education and Science
- Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
- FÁS
- Forfás
- Irish Congress of Trade Unions
- Irish Business Employers’ Confederation
- Construction Industry Federation
- National Centre for Partnership and Performance
ENDS
Last modified: 26/04/2007
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