asked the Minister for Labour the proposals, if any, he has to reduce the high levels of absenteeism from employment in both the public and private sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment Absenteeism.
5.
The resolution of problems of absenteeism is a management responsibility and is best tackled at the level of the individual firm. Any initiatives at national level should not be regarded as a substitute for effective absenteeism control programmes in the workplace.
A number of initiatives have been taken by different agencies to highlight the problem. The IPC were given a mandate by the Department of Industry and Commerce to raise awareness of the problem of absenteeism control nationally. The IMI have an absenteeism control programme, which is designed to assist managers implement prevention and control procedures. The IMI booklet —"Absenteeism — The Missing Facts"— is a source of information about absenteeism.
A report published recently on absenteeism in the public sector was commissioned from the Institute of Public Administration by the then Department of the Public Service. Also, the Department of Finance are to issue guidelines for the Civil Service with a view to improving absenteeism control procedures further. I also understand that a report on absenteeism is being drawn up by the Employer-Labour Conference.
Will the Minister say whether it is the case that there are not reliable authoritative statistics on the level of absenteeism in Ireland? Will he agree that the indications available put Ireland somewhere in the middle range of most of our competitors? Will he agree that while we are not as good as countries like Japan there are countries that are worse than us? Is that the general picture that emerges from the statistics?
That is correct.
Is it true that the evidence is that where countries have tackled the problem they have been very successful? Will he agree that what is required is to persuade companies that are not addressing the problem to do so? On that basis will he use his influence with agencies such as the IMI, which is substantially funded by his Department, to have them play a more active part in persuading management to play their role?
In recent years there has been a greater awareness about the problem. A task force, consisting of the IMI and the IPC, were asked to get involved in this area and their efforts are meeting with success. A recent report on absenteeism by the Institute of Public Administration revealed an absentee rate of 3.3 per cent in the Civil Service which is below the national average. Where programmes and control procedures have been used there has been a great deal of success. My view is that a lot more can be done in this area because in any big organisation, including the public service, absenteeism represents a costly part of the pay bill.
When the Minister talks about the public service is he talking exclusively about the Civil Service or is he speaking about public sector companies?
I am speaking about the Civil Service.
Has the Minister any figures which would show the relationship of absenteeism between the Civil Service and non-State companies? Could he also indicate the statistics he has in relation to where Ireland is placed on the table within the OECD or the EC on the question of absenteeism?
I do not have the figures but they are available in the reports produced by the Irish Productivity Centre and the IMI. These reports give figures related to absenteeism in the Civil Service compared to the overall public sector. I do not know if there is a detailed analysis but I will send the reports to the Deputy.
They deal with the public as against the private sector?
Yes.