Introduction

This is the final report from a joint Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) funded project run by the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA) and Unions 21. The project began with the simple intention to bring workplace trade unionists and managers together to share their practical experiences of what partnership working meant for them, their members, other employees and the organisation.

Much of the partnership debate has been clouded by prejudice and rhetoric. This was something that the project wanted to avoid from the outset. The IPA and Unions 21 commissioned a supervisory group of senior employer and trade union practitioners and asked them how to address the application of partnership principles. These issues were not only discussed  in terms of joint decision making (information, consultation and negotiation) at a strategic level, but through examples of joint working (information and consultation) activities that spread partnership among local managers, representatives and employees in managing their work, environment and change.

The group discussed some of the common cultural challenges to joint working and joint decision making. These were: commitment from senior management, buy-in from middle management and shop stewards and the satisfaction of the workforce. Alongside these, it also identified some common practical challenges to joint working and joint decision making. These were: effective leadership, evidence of fair and transparent joint working arrangements and a robust, communicable case for all parties to become engaged.

Key themes

Of the cultural and practical challenges the supervisory group identified, five key themes emerged as the basis for workshop discussion groups:

1. To explore the catalysts for joint working and ask whether partnership is the right approach and what inputs are required from representatives and management
2. To examine senior level decision-making arrangements in established partnerships and critique their impact on successful consultation and/or negotiation
3. To consider the leadership skills and behaviours required within organisations for successful joint working and how to encourage these in middle mangers and shop stewards
4. To explore how management and trade unions can encourage greater employee involvement in joint working and joint decision making
5. To evaluate the success of joint working by balancing the benefits received by the organisation, trade unions and employees.

Over 40 senior managers and trade unions contributed their thoughts to the developing themes at a consultation day held in January 2005. This was chaired by Jim McAuslan, General Secretary, BALPA.

The brief findings in this report summarise the detailed discussions held at the consultation day and five regional workshops held in Cardiff, Birmingham, London, Darlington and Glasgow in April 2005.

Over 200 people from over 120 organisations attended the workshops. These included presentations from Acas, Cummins Engine Co, the Edrington Group, Eurotunnel, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Nottingham City Hospital, NCR Business Solutions, Severn Trent Water, United Welsh Housing Association and Westinghouse. Some of the key messages from these workshops are reproduced here.