Vol. 422 No. 5
179 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Labour if he has had any discussions with the ICTU or the FIE regarding the implementation of their joint declaration on employee involvement in the private sector; if he will outline the progress, if any, which has been made with regard to implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The FIE/ICTU Joint Declaration on Employee Involvement in the Private Sector which was drawn up under the Employer Labour Conference was launched by the Minister for Labour in June 1991. At the launch the Minister stressed that the document should not be seen as an end but as the beginning of a process of exhorting and encouraging the development of employee involvement.
I know that both FIE and ICTU are committed to the promotion of the content and spirit of the document and have impressed on all member companies and unions the importance of introducing employee involvement initiatives along the lines outlined in the document. The IPC which was designated as the national participation agency has also been actively promoting the document and reports a very positive response.
The Employer Labour Conference has been given the role of monitoring developments and I am confident that over time they will have very positive results to report.
I and officials of my Department have regular contact and meetings with FIE and ICTU at which many issues are discussed including the question of employee involvement. At two such meetings with ICTU so far this year employee involvement issues have been on the agenda for discussion.
