The Workplace of the Future
Introduction
Comhairle was established in June 2000 as a statutory body under the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. Comhairle combines all aspects of the work of the former National Social Services Board (NSSB) and the relevant information and advice functions of the former National Rehabilitation Board (NRB). Key functions of Comhairle are
"to support the provision of independent information, advice and advocacy services and to assist and support individuals, in particular those with disabilities, in identifying and understanding their needs and options and in accessing their entitlement to social services".Comhairle also has a responsibility to
"influence policy developments by highlighting the concerns of service users as to the effectiveness of social and civil services".In delivering on this function Comhairle relies heavily on feedback from Citizens Information Centres and on networking with other NGOs to build up a pool of knowledge covering inequities, gaps and anomalies in both entitlements and service delivery.
The 85 Citizens Information Centres, and the National Citizens Information Call Centre supported by Comhairle, dealt with 475,000 public queries in 2002. CICs report queries with a social policy dimension to Comhairle where they are analysed and used as the basis for policy submissions and reports. During 2002, 772 of these queries were deemed by CICs to have social policy implications and were reported to Comhairle in separate social policy returns.
This Submission draws on the experience of information and advice services in relation to employment issues. Within CICs the number of employment related queries has been increasing over the last number of years. A survey of CIC queries in 1999 showed that 14% related to employment issues. This category was the second highest category after social welfare queries (50%). The CIC Survey 2001 shows employment related queries increasing to 16% of all queries. This percentage increased to 27% of all queries to the Citizens Information Call Centre. The CIC Survey 2001 shows that 42% of employment queries relate to employment rights.
As well as individual queries, employment issues also figure strongly in the wider social policy matters raised by CICs. Thus in the first six months of 1999 16% of such matters were employment related. In 1999 the Employment Rights Information Unit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment dealt with 82,069 calls. In 2002 this had risen to 125,930. For the first three quarters of 2003 from January to September, social policy returns from CICs show employment related policy issues at 20% of social policy returns.
Getting the Basics Right
Given that the brief for the Forum on the Workplace of the Future is to "foster in-depth discussion and analysis on how workplaces can proactively adapt to competitive pressures, improve the delivery of public services and meet the changing needs of employees" it is imperative that in discussing innovative new methods we do not lose sight of the basics.
The basics include the right to be protected by the employment legislation of the country in a situation where implementation is assured and policed with sufficient resources.
Comhairle published a Social Policy Report in September 2000 entitled Employment Rights. The recommendations of this report (enclosed) largely remain valid in 2003. In fact changes since 2000 particularly in the numbers of migrant workers in Ireland have made the situation more acute and the adequate enforcement of the implementation of employment rights more urgent.
Employment Protection Legislation
The past decade has witnessed the enactment of a wide range of employment protection legislation. While some of the legislation extends the scope of previous legislation, a considerable body of it covers entirely new ground, for example, a national minimum wage, the right to a wage slip, adoptive leave, statutory provision for rest periods, and parental leave (albeit unpaid). Some of the legislation also reflects the influence of EU Directives on our employment legislation, such as the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996, the Parental Leave Act 1998 and the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001.
There is every reason to expect that the pace of legislative change witnessed in the last decade will continue in the future.
The level of new employment protection legislation has implications for employees, employers and their respective organisations. All concerned have to try to keep abreast of the changes and to work, on a practical day to day basis, with what is often quite complex legislation.
Implementation of Employment Legislation
There are implications also for the institutions and mechanisms by which the legislation is policed, and rights enforced. It is questionable whether the resources available to the institutions concerned have kept pace with the level of increased demand arising from new employment protection measures. Likewise the mechanisms available to deal with disputes and enforce rights have become more complex.
The increase in the level of queries on employment matters does not only arise from extra volume of employment protection legislation. Clearly the increased numbers in the workforce is also a major contributory factor. In particular there are greater numbers in atypical work situations and in the past few years a huge increase in migrant workers who, while they are covered by all Irish legislation often find that compliance in this area is poor.
Against this overall background it is hardly surprising that information and advice services report an increasing number of queries in relation to employment issues. These services are generally availed of by non-unionised employees. It is precisely these employees (often in the younger age group or migrant workers and in low paid jobs) that are most at risk of failing to receive entitlements under employment legislation. For such employees the gap between the theory of employment protection legislation and its implementation is at its widest. Unless such legislation is a reality for even the most vulnerable of employees then its effectiveness must be called into question.
