History
The Community Sector Employers’ Forum was developed through the Dublin Employment Pact’s (DEP) Equal at Work project which ran from 2004 to 2007 with the support of the EU EQUAL Community Initiative.
Research into HR policies, practices and working conditions in the Community Sector identified a range of problems:
a) lack of HR support in particular to small employers across the sector;
b) lack of adequate pay and conditions resulting in recruitment and retention difficulties for employers;
c) difficulties due to the incoherence in coverage of employment costs between government funding programmes and arising from cycles of annual project funding.
A further study carried out to identify supports needed by employers, identified the following:
- need for a forum to enable employers to identify and tackle common problems.
- need for accessible information on HR, covering practices, policies and legislation.
Responding to this, the web based Employer Resource Bureau for the Community Sector (www.erb.ie) was launched in April 2007 and is now an integral part of the services being provided by the CSEF. Currently the site receives 4,400 visits monthly.
The inaugural meeting of the CSEF took place in June 2007 and became incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in February 2008
Vision
The CSEF is the representative voice of employers in the community sector. We represent the interests and concerns of our members including to government departments and statutory agencies and those who provide funding for local initiatives and programmes aimed at overcoming inequality and social exclusion and we engage with trade unions and other bodies on sector wide issues.
Mission
CSEF seeks to influence the policy and practice of government departments and statutory agencies that fund community led initiatives and programmes regarding all matters concerned with the employer role and to provide high quality supports to our members with the aim of achieving best practice in relation to employment standards and practices in the community sector. We also seek to engage with trade unions to agree procedures for dealing with employment issues in the sector that are consistent with both workers’ rights and the nature of voluntary management bodies.
General Objectives of CSEF
- To make representations to bodies, including government departments and statutory agencies on behalf of our members;
- To provide relevant information to members and to facilitate them to share experiences and offer mutual support to each other;
- To develop alliances with other employer bodies and other organisations engaged in social partnership arrangements and initiatives on issues of mutual concern;
- To identify models of good practice in other EU members states for replication by our members.
- To engage with trade unions on sector wide issues.
Strategic Objectives
1. Building the membership
2. Developing services
3. Developing mechanisms to support and inform engagement with others including actors external to the sector
4. Promoting the CSEF.
5. Developing the CSEF as a resourced, autonomous organisation.
Why Join the CSEF:
- The CSEF growing membership (100+ members);
- The energy and commitment of its Board;
- Having the services of an experienced co-ordinator; the Employer Resource Bureau (www.erb.ie) with its growing number of hits;
- Having the support of Dublin Employment Pact including its support with finance and development for 2008;
- Tthe clarity that exists on the ground regarding the issues to be addressed by CSEF;
- Tthe allies with which it has already made contact (including IBEC, CPP, trades unions); securing a meeting with the Department of An Taoiseach;
- The development of a number of policy/position papers;
- The receptivity of the sector broadly to the messages developed by CSEF members to date.
If you wish to join the CSEF please complete & return the Application Form. |
