Written Answers. - National Centre for Partnership.
Ruairí Quinn
Question:
122
Mr. Quinn
asked the
Taoiseach
if he will outline the work which the National Partnership Centre has undertaken to date in 1997; the relationship, if any, it has to the central review committee of the social partners; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[21448/97]
The national centre for partnership was established this year, in accordance with Partnership 2000.
The aim of the centre is to foster, directly and indirectly, partnership arrangements, between employers, employees and unions in the workplace with a view to securing the competitiveness, viability and prosperity of enterprises and the modernisation of public services.
The centre is managed by a board and has two full-time executives, Mr. John O'Dowd, former General Secretary, CPSU and Mr. Gerry Grogan, former President, IBEC. The work programme for the centre is based on the following priority issues: promotion of involvement and partnership; monitoring developments; technical assistance and support to organisations involved in developing involvement and partnership arrangements; dissemination of best practices; and training for management, union, employer and workplace representatives.
Work to date has focused mainly on ascertaining the existing level of partnership in the workplace through countrywide meetings with employers, employees and unions.
In addition to the board, a liaison group, chaired by my Department, has been established with representatives from IBEC, ICTU, the Irish Productivity Centre, the Labour Relations Commission, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Finance. The role of the liaison group will be to act as a communications forum and as a resource for the acquisition and dissemination of information and expertise on partnership and on training to support partnership.
The work of the centre is formally linked to the wider monitoring mechanism on Parnership 2000 by way of an annual presentation by IBEC and ICTU to the quarterly plenary meetings. The first such presentation is scheduled for the next quarterly meeting which takes place on 28 January.
