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BIENNIAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE WATERFRONT HALL BELFAST June 21- 24, 2005 Tuesday 21 June - Morning Session Opening of Conference 9.30 – 11.30 Brendan Mackin, Congress President The facility itself (The Waterfront) is owned by Belfast City Council for and on behalf of the citizens of Belfast, and I think as a facility it is one that we think should be a model for all public authorities to have for their people. So on your behalf as President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, I would like to call on the Lord Mayor, the Right Honourable Councillor Wallace Browne to speak to Conference. Right Honourable Councillor Wallace Browne, Lord Mayor of Belfast Mr. President, Secretary of State, Delegates, thank you for inviting me to open your Conference this morning. I am very proud as the newly elected Lord Mayor of this city to extend a very warm welcome on behalf of the people of Belfast to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. For those of you who may be visiting Belfast for the first time, I give you a very special welcome. Belfast has a very proud history as a major industrial and trade union centre, but it also has been a divided city, and unfortunately that division has at times entered the workplace with tragic consequences, marring the growth of organised labour in one of Ireland’s oldest trade union centres. Our history has taught us some very hard lessons. For many years our troubles festered in the vacuum of economic stagnation and it is only in more recent years that things have been changing. The work which was carried out by the trade union movement in Northern Ireland to reduce sectarianism and intimidation in the workplace, I believe deserves special mention. This morning I want to recognise the very significant work which the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has done in promoting a neutral working environment where everyone can work without intimidation or fear of intimidation. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the many trade unionists that stood firm during very difficult times against sectarianism, and today the 1 trade union movement still has a significant role to play in the social and economic development of this city. The working world has of course changed immeasurably over recent years and will continue to do so. The way we work has changed without doubt. The way we protect our workforce must also change, to be in a strong position, not just to welcome that change, but to manage it, is something I believe we all have to give much time and creative thought to. It is a new industrial revolution. Because of the way communications have changed it is happening at an astonishing speed. There is little time for deliberation, yet out response needs to be assured and imaginative. Seen through one set of eyes, we have new problems to deal with. Seen through other eyes we have endless new possibilities. It is against this landscape that organisations need to adapt to a rapidly changing environment which is driven by technology and rising customer expectations. Achieving and retaining high performance means we have to be more innovative and effective, not only in meeting customer’s needs, but also in managing our employees. In today’s fast-changing economy, employees need support to deal with the realities of modern life so they can cope successfully with the challenges of combining work and family. I was particularly interested to note that your overall theme of this Conference is “Quality Work = Quality Life”. Belfast City Council is the largest of the 26 Local Authorities and wants to be an employer of choice and to this end it must remain focussed and committed to innovative and best HR practices. Initiatives such as its Home Working Pilot Scheme, its approach to Work Life Balance, the move to online recruitment, competency-based recruitment and development, all show that the Council embraces such issues to deliver its business goals. I am pleased to say that the Council has developed a very good working relationship with the Northern Ireland Committee, which is a key player in the partnership we have set up to deliver an exciting new project call WINS. Just over 38% of the Council’s workforce is female, nearly 10% more than in 1990. The WINS project, which stands for Women in Non-traditional Sectors aims to increase the number of women working in non-traditional jobs within the Council and its partner organisations through a programme of training and work experience. In particular Ann Hope and Ursula O’Hare from Congress have been a great source of advice and support for the project and we are looking forward to continuing this work as the project develops over the new two years. Belfast is in need of a great cultural diversity and we are grateful that our economy has now become attractive enough to draw people from around the world. This is something to celebrate. International workers provide essential skills and knowledge in much needed areas, but on a social level they also provide a richness and variety of different cultures and traditions to this city. This diversity is to be welcomed. The Belfast you see today is a city of distinction offering a wealth of opportunities to people from all backgrounds, both local and visitors. The city is also known for having a warmth and friendliness, it continues 2 to attract tourists and delegates from all over the world, and your presence in the city is evidence of this. In recent years Belfast has earned a reputation for the right reasons. This is a compact city offering a wealth of places to eat and drink, theatres, night life, tourist attractions and shopping. It is also rich in culture with excellent museums and galleries, and combines the excellence of its Victorian architectural heritage with the very best of contemporary design. I am confident that you will enjoy the Belfast experience during your week at this Conference. In conclusion, I wish to commend you all on the work you have done for us all, the voice of organised labour must be heard loudly if we are to build a new and agreed society. By continuing to work together as social partners we can guarantee the most fundamental of rights; the right to life and the right to work. In closing, may I reiterate a very warm and sincere welcome to Belfast. I wish you well with your Conference and hope that it is both successful and rewarding and that you have the opportunity to forge stronger links with your partners so that you may continue to deliver vital services to those people most in need. Thank you very much indeed. Brendan Mackin, Congress President Thank you Lord Mayor for your contribution. What you have said is I think of benefit to us all and I think when you listen to the Lord Mayor you realise that he didn’t say anything about his own commitment to the trade union movement, and the fact is that he has been a lifelong member of the NASUWT. So thank you Lord Mayor. Can I now call on the General Secretary to introduce the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain. David Begg, Congress General Secretary Lord Mayor, President, Colleagues. For reasons which I will explain, it is a real personal pleasure for me to have the opportunity of introducing the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is a man who has had what I think could reasonably have been described as a meteoric rise in the political system since he was first elected to the constituency of Neath in 1991. Since then he has been a Foreign Office Minister, Minister for Europe, he has been Leader of the House and now Northern Ireland Secretary, I think by common agreement one of the most difficult jobs in politics today. But it’s hard to think of anybody who is better qualified for this job because he has a long track record and experience in conflict resolution in Africa. His record on human rights I think is not matched by 3 anybody. I think those of us who are of a certain vintage will remember his work in the struggle against Apartheid and the high personal cost to himself in pursuing that struggle which earned great admiration amongst everybody who shared that common objective with him. I had the pleasure of being a colleague of Peter’s at one stage in my career when he worked with the CWU in the UK and I was working with the CWU in Ireland, and our path’s crossed again some years later in Nairobi when he was working on peace resolution in the Great Lakes area of the country as a Foreign Office Minister and I was working with Concern. I must say I have always admired everything he has done. I suppose Peter I would just say to you that our concern here in Northern Ireland is to try to build a better society. The Lord Mayor has correctly said that great progress has been made in recent years, but there is much more to do. Northern Ireland is the fastest growing region in the UK but it is one of the least prosperous regions, and it is bedevilled by low participation rates in the economy and low pay, and it is important that policy decisions that are taken in the area of public sector pay should not exacerbate this problem in terms of disconnecting the pay determination system here from that of the UK in general.