House of Hardy, a fishing tackle manufacturer in Alnwick,
plans a project designed to achieve productivity improvements
in their manufacturing department. Both management and
the union at this SME see Partnership at Work as an ideal
vehicle to complement the 'new management approach' which
is central to the achievement of their main business objectives.
Establishment
of Employee Forum
Pizza
Express, the UK pizza chain, plans to establish an Employee
Forum which will help the management consult all staff
before decisions are made. The project co-ordinator is
a waiter who has been seconded to oversee the development
of the project.
The
Partnership Website
The
Involvement and Participation Association (IPA) plan to
develop a partnership website to promote the benefits
of partnership within the workplace to human resource
managers, trade unions and journalists. The aim is to
achieve a wider understanding of the advantages of partnership
and to provide practical steps to help organisations develop
their own partnership approach.
Quality
in Pre-Press
Sans
Serif Ltd, an SME in Birmingham employing 25, offers a
range of advertising, graphic design and print buying
services. The company sees partnership as a way forward
to ensure future success and overcome current problems.
The project develops co-operation between management,
employees and the Graphical Paper and Media Union (GPMU),
and also develops communications, participation and continuous
improvement.
Building
the Partnership Union
The
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU), which
has 720,000 members, aims to build the capacity of the
union through its partnership project in order to convince
members and companies of the practical value of partnership.
The project will build competencies within the union itself,
publish training materials and Partnership Standards and
organise regional partnership conferences.
Doing
It Together
Employee
Ownership Scotland, a Glasgow charity employing three
staff, is seeking funding to support their partnership
project to promote the benefits of allowing people to
become equity partners and share in tangible benefits
of real partnership. The project aims to combine the benefits
of Investors with People and stakeholding within SMEs.
Best
Practice Guide to Developing Partnerships at Work
The
Humberside Training and Enterprise Council has developed
a project to capture, share and promote existing best
practice from a range of Humberside companies in the form
of a best practice guide to developing partnerships at
work. The guide will include case studies of local businesses
and material produced will feature business benefits of
partnership.
Branlow
Ltd
Branlow
Ltd, an SME employing 28 people in Warrington aims to
formalise ad hoc methods of achieving teamwork. The company
is currently working on a Developing World Class project
with Business Link Warrington and they see the Partnership
at Work project as the basis for the company's ongoing
development.
Partners
in Progress - British Bakeries
British
Bakeries in partnership with the Bakers Food and Allied
Workers Union (BFAWU), ACAS and the TUC wants to create
and launch a UK-wide partnership Forum. The aim is to
develop a best practice model and assist the exchange
of good practice between different sites within the group.
The project will be piloted at the Birmingham site.
Enterprise
Employee Relations
East
of Scotland Water based in Edinburgh is seeking funding
for a project which seeks to develop a way of working
where the management and the trade unions share common
goals and contribute to the success of the company on
the basis of mutual trust and extensive employee participation.
The
Establishment of Local Communication/Consultation Forums
Northern
Foods plc, based in Hull, intend to establish communication
and consultation forums for each of their operating companies.
In the face of increasing competition the company, in
partnership with its unions, who want to increase staff
involvement and the proposed local forums are designed
to build on the recently developed European Works Council.
Beyond 2000 - Employee Relations in the New Millennium
The
proposal from the BNFL Fuel Group in Preston is designed
to improve business performance by improving employee
relations. Behavioural skills training will be provided
to line managers and employees, and a programme of "understanding
change" workshops will be carried out. Wide dissemination
is planned.
Working
Together - Involving Staff
This
proposal from Unison, the public sector union, will develop
a new management style and increase staff involvement
initially within the Wolverhampton Health Trust. It is
planned to extend and disseminate best practice across
the NHS with the support of the NHS and other unions.
The project demonstrates the role and commitment of all
partners.
Partnership
at Work in Youth Services
The
Community and Youth Workers Union (CYWU), together with
partners from the voluntary sector, Sefton Borough Council,
and the Red Cross have submitted a bid which seeks to
improve employment practice and partnership in the voluntary
youth work sector. It is intended to disseminate the results
and experience acquired during the project via the internet
and through articles produced by the participating
organisations.
Working Together to Achieve Excellence
Kears
Group Ltd, is a private company with 1,200 staff in the
food manufacturing and distribution sector in Lydney.
The project focuses on the management and the unions working
together to achieve excellence and involving all staff
in the development of this culture and rewarding employees
for their contribution to the firm's success.
The
Best Way Forward
Lawson
Mardon Star Limited achieved Investors in People (IIP)
in 1996 and partnership has continued to be developed
with the union since that date. Their project is designed
to develop skills, increase the take up of NVQs, and improve
communication and empowerment across the workforce in
Bridgnorth.
Much
Ado About Something
Nottingham
County Council takes the lead in this imaginative project
to utilise theatre as a way to stimulate employee involvement.
The process involves performance of a play based on a
workplace scenario which is 'directed' by the audience
- in this case the employees - and following discussion
of its issues they are encouraged to 'write' the ending
of the play.
Unison
/ Mediclean: Partnership and Workforce Development
Unison and ISS Mediclean, a private company, are seeking
to develop partnership practices and encourage workforce
development at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. The main
aim is to promote an increase in the quantity and quality
of participation by employees of ISS Mediclean in the
areas of industrial relations, human resources and workforce
development.
Vertex
/ Unison - Learning to Work in Partnership
Vertex
Data Science is a company of 3,200 employees (part of
United Utilities plc) involved in business process outsourcing.
It has developed a partnership agreement with Unison to
deal with future changes. The training and education focus
of the project aims to support the development and application
of the agreement.
Driving
Change through Shared Learning
English,
Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS) have put together their
project in conjunction with a number of trade unions.
They intend to build on their 1999 partnership agreement
by facilitating shared learning and reducing conflict
through a joint approach to problem resolution. The project
is being co-ordinated by the London based Head Office.
Positive
Partnership
McVitie's,
the Glasgow-based food manufacturer, is keen to develop
and implement a set of interfaces for management and the
workforce to improve involvement and participation. Three
unions will work together with the management to jointly
develop and agree a 'Positive Partnership' at the Tollcross
site.
Partners
for Progress - Building Best Practice:
A Programme of Regional Conferences
The
TUC is intending to hold four regional conferences showing
how partnership has improved organisational performance.
This will lay the foundations for further collaborative
work to be carried out in the future. The project will
also involve the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF)
and Bristol Chamber of Commerce and will lead to regional
conferences to disseminate best practice.
Analysis
of Training Needs for Partnership
The
project, to be run by the TUC National Education Centre,
is designed to undertake training needs analysis to establish
what skills are needed by Trade Union officials and lay
representatives in order to be able to successfully implement
partnership in the workplace.
Building
Social Partnerships in the Workplace - A Quality Based
Approach
The
charities body, NCVO, aims to build partnership in the
workplace within the voluntary sector. The project is
designed to help voluntary organisations overcome barriers
to adopting partnership and new legislation. They will
develop a range of tools in collaboration with unions
to enable voluntary sectors to change employment relations
culture.
Steel
Learning Partnership Project
This
is a joint proposal between Corus (formerly British Steel)
and the Iron & Steel Trades Confederation to carry out
four workshops aimed at developing lifelong learning strategies.
The project is learning focused but adopts a partnership
approach in that the seminar audiences will include managers,
union representatives and employees.
Working
Together Project - One Voice against Bullying and Harassment
The
South Tees Acute Hospitals Trust and Unison has put together
a project to provide "confidential advisers" for staff
experiencing bullying or harassment at work and wants
to develop an infrastructure of support. This will be
a centrepiece and platform for the development of a wider
partnership culture.
Further Education Partnership at Work
The
Scottish Trades Union Congress is seeking to establish
a partnership working arrangement between five West of
Scotland Further Education colleges and the Scottish TUC
acting on behalf of its Further Education Trade Union
affiliates, to produce four employment policy frameworks
based on best practice. The aim is to improve employment
relations and deliver common terms and conditions.
Building
Partnership in Axa
The
trade unions MSF and UNIFI have developed a project with
the insurance company Axa to promote a partnership approach
and improve business performance. The project is intended
help promote and disseminate good practice both within
Axa itself and more generally across the financial sector.
Healthy
Workplace 2000
The
Family Welfare Association is a London based charity.
In partnership with Unison it intends to develop joint
Health and Safety issues and so consolidate working relationships.
Dissemination will be within the voluntary sector and
any resources produced will be shared with other voluntary
organisations.
Manufacturing the Learning link
HJ
Heinz Co Ltd, in conjunction with the North West office
of the TUC and Wigan Borough Partnership intend to develop
a partnership approach within the company, and in the
process drawing in other local bodies including trade
unions, colleges and the Enterprise Council. The proposal
includes the establishment of an Open Learning Centre.
Balancing
Work and Home - A Partnership Approach
The
Daycare Trust in partnership with the Maternity Alliance
and New Ways to Work is developing a programme of training
and consultancy to promote a partnership approach to identifying
policies and practice to support employees and employers
in balancing priorities at work and home.
TUC
and CBI: Health and Safety Partnership Case Studies
The
TUC and CBI are together bidding for support to help develop
10 case studies showing how partnerships at work achieve
better standards of health and safety and have lower injury/illness
rates. A conference will be held which will promote the
case studies more widely and a brochure will be developed
to accompany this activity.
Women's
Technology and Education Centre (WTEC)
The
Women's Technology and Education Centre (WTEC) aims to
develop a shared vision and culture across the organisation
which, until recently, was divided into two separate divisions.
The bid focuses on utilising the principles set out in
the joint DTI/DfEE publication Partnerships with People
in order to develop the systems and structure to create
a partnership amongst the 43 management and full and part-time
employees in Wigan.
