A joint management/trade union partnership agreement at local government level, which envisages both parties working towards the common goal of delivering services "of the highest quality" to customers, was launched in Ireland on 1 April 1999. The agreement, set out in a document entitled A framework for partnership in the local authorities, sets out the roles and responsibilities of each part of what is to be a three-tier structure.
A framework for "partnership" within Ireland's local authority system, based on a three-tier structure, has been agreed between management and trade unions. Launched on 1 April 1999 by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Noel Dempsey, the agreement - set out in a document entitled A framework for partnership in the local authorities- lays down the roles and responsibilities of each part of the structure. It will comprise:
- a "national partnership advisory group";
- "local partnership committees" in each local authority; and
- "partnership working groups" to work on specific partnership projects.
The initiative draws on partnership principles laid down in Ireland's current three-year national agreement, Partnership 2000 (IE9702103F), a central component of which is a commitment on action to modernise the public service. Chapter 10 of Partnership 2000) states that successful change "must be based on a partnership approach ... where the objective is to achieve joint ownership by management, unions and staff of the entire process". Chapter 10 goes on to describe the objectives of the partnership approach in the public service as follows:
The objective is to achieve joint ownership by management, unions and staff and to replace the adversarial approach to change with an open cooperative process based on effective consultation and participation by all concerned for the progression and implementation of strategic goals, service delivery objectives, and associated action programmes.
Direct negotiations commenced in October 1998 between representatives of the Local Government Management Services Board (LGMSB) and four main trade union groupings: the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (SIPTU), the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU), the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union (IMPACT) and the craft group of unions. They agreed to establish the national advisory group for partnership to agree a model framework for partnership for implementation in the local authorities.
The role of the national advisory group is to coordinate, advise and support each local authority in devising its partnership approach. It is also to "act as a forum for discussion, development and clarification of any partnership issues that may arise". The national group is to communicate with the second tier of partnership, the local authority partnership committees, which are to update it with "progress, development and problems", while the group provides advice and guidance.
Local partnership committees
The local partnership committees are to be established in each county, county borough and local authority, which could encompass urban district councils and the authorities which run Ireland's main cities, known as corporations (eg Dublin Corporation is responsible for Dublin's city-based services). Each committee will be composed of union and management nominees.
The agreement says that union representation should not be restricted to shop stewards and should include ordinary union members. The unions should agree at local level how they will be represented on the partnership committees, and efforts "should be made" to ensure a gender balance on these committees.
The local committees are to "effectively manage and steer" the partnership process and they are also to create a forum for the "sharing of ideas and information, and the identification of opportunities for partnership and development". When these opportunities have been identified, they are to be researched, analysed or implemented by the specific working groups at local level.
The type of issues which it is suggested could be tackled by each local committee include: health and safety; employment policies (such as sexual harassment policy); the public image of the local authority; strategic plans for service delivery; provision of quality service; designing less formal hierarchies; and the customisation of national policies for implementation at local level.
Joint training is to be provided for the partnership committees, to be held during working hours. "Facilitation" training is also to be given to ensure that each local authority has sufficient "facilitators" to develop partnership at all levels.
The task groups
The third tier, the partnership working groups, are to be "small task/project focused groups or functional groups which will be set up, when necessary, by the local partnership committee to explore, examine, analyse, research or make recommendations on issues or opportunities which have been identified by the partnership committee".
The local committee is to select participants for these working groups, and employees from all levels and departments are eligible for inclusion. Usually they would be selected on the basis of their area of work, expertise, knowledge or experience. Each working group would be provided with terms of reference by the local committee, and training would be provided for the group, with sufficient human and financial resources made available to it.
The working group is to formulate reports to the local committee and, once the local committee has agreed to an action plan and consulted with all "stakeholders", it may delegate responsibility for implementing this action plan back to the partnership working group. The local committee has the responsibility for disbanding the partnership working group when tasks have been completed.
Disputes
The agreement recognises the possibility that disputes could potentially unhinge the partnership process in its early stages. It states that "in the public interest management may have to deal swiftly with particular issues". While it is accepted that such cases "will not be the norm", consultation and information sharing are to take place if they occur.
It has also been agreed that neither management or unions will attempt to slow down the partnership process or "hold it to ransom in order to exert pressure in support of either a change in working practices or a collective bargaining issue". A mechanism for resolving problems should be agreed and put in place so as to ensure "as far as possible a protective ring fence is built around the partnership process in order to give it time to develop".
Commentary
The aim of the framework is to devolve to local level the sort of partnership approach which has marked relationships between the social partners at national level. The initiative must also be seen in the context of efforts to modernise and introduce more customer-friendly services at local level.
As is the case in private industry however, the success of the project will ultimately depend on whether both management and unions are fully committed to the process. It will take a considerable effort to inculcate culture change into a system which has traditionally operated within an adversarial industrial relations environment. (Brian Sheehan, IRN, John Geary and Tony Dobbins, UCD)