Electric Mail > General > March 2009 > ESB Joint Equality Council Annual Report 2008



		ESB Joint Equality Council Annual Report 2008 The joint equality Council (JEC) is a joint body drawn from management and the Group of Unions, who work in partnership to promote equality and diversity throughout ESB. The Council was originally established in 1994. The term of office for each Council is two years. Members of the Council are nominated by both Management and Trade Unions for the two-year term. The Council Chairperson, who is independent and external to ESB, is nominated in turn by ESB and the Group of Unions. The current Chairperson is Prof Eileen Drew of Trinity College, Dublin. The JEC generally usually meets every second month and its views are conveyed to ESB and the Group of Unions through their respective members. Members of the Council Council Chairperson: Professor Eileen Drew, TCD Council Secretary: Niall O'Connor, Equality & Diversity Office ESB Representatives: Maria Green, Shared Services Bernie O'Connor, Customer Supply Adrian Carroll, Power Generation Orla Maher, ESBI Sean Nevin, ESB Networks Colette Connolly, ICT Union Representatives: David Miller, UNITE-ATGWU John Graham, UNITE-AMICUS Mary Winston, ESBOA Lourdes Mulqueen SIPTU Peter Sheehy, TEEU Belinda Perry, Group of Unions Disability Representative: Ciaran Gogarty Equality & Diversity Manager: Joyce Farrell Highlights from the current Term of Office The Council held six meetings in 2008 and its main work load was the review; updating and redrafting of the following ESB equality and diversity policies: Code of Practice for People with Disabilities A sub group (Ciaran Gogarty and Mary Winston) was established to research, review and update the old Code of Practice, which dated back to 2000. The updated policy will be available in on the Intranet in a number of formats and will be officially launched in next few weeks Striking the Balance Booklet A sub group (Niall O Connor, Belinda Perry and Colette Connolly) was established to review and update the 1999 information booklet, Striking the Balance, which provides information to staff members on combining their careers with other commitments. The revised booklet will be launched in March. Respect and Dignity for the Individual in ESB A sub group of Joyce Farrell, John Graham and Sean Nevin, in conjunction with Eve McPartlin. Employment Lawyer. and several ESB experienced practitioners of the policy from the business units) was formed to review and update the Respect and Dignity at Work Policy. Extensive research was carried out by this sub group and the new policy will be underpinned by the Dignity in the Workplace Charter, which outlines the values and behaviours that ESB expects from all staff in their day-to-day dealings with colleagues, managers, customers, contractors, etc. Communications A sub group has been recently been formed to improve both the communications from the Council to staff and to promote a greater awareness of the JEC. 2009 Action Plans The Council is currently formulating its action plan for 2009 and would particularly welcome suggestions from staff members to be included. For further information please contact: Niall O'Connor at HO Extn. 26705 or Ciaran Gogarty at Extn. 26270.		Pictured: (l-r) Adrian Carroll, Belinda Perry, Mary Winston, Niall O'Connor, Lourdes Mulqueen, Luke Shinnors, Executive Director HR, Bernie O Connor, Professor Eileen Drew, Chairperson, Colette Connolly, John Graham, Orla Maher and Sean Nevin.

| | |