Agenda item 6: early findings from the published Social Partnership reports

1. This paper builds on updates tabled as papers-to-note at previous meetings, as sufficient have now been published to allow for early findings to be shared.

2. At the time of the writing this paper, twenty of the fifty-five public bodies subject to the duty have published their Social Partnership report for 2024-25. The breakdown is as follows:

3. Members have been sent links to all published reports and the SPC Secretariat will continue to share newly published links with members on a weekly basis. These will be published on the SPC website in due course.

Statutory Requirements

4. Almost all bodies provided at least some evidence that they had sought compromise or consensus when setting their well-being objectives and/or taking strategic decisions about taking steps to achieve their objectives. One body had not yet set its well-being objectives for the first time, and another did not report taking any strategic decisions.
    
5. The most commonly reported strategic decisions, that consensus or compromise were sought on, were the corporate/ annual plan, budget setting and the review of well-being objectives.
    
6. A significant proportion of reports did not include in the body of the report a statement to confirm that the trade union(s)/ staff representatives had agreed the report. However, this information was subsequently confirmed by email when the Secretariat followed up.
    
7. Two reports were not agreed with the recognised trade unions, though in both cases, a statement explaining why was included. The reason given in one report being that there were unresolved disputes about terms and conditions, and in the other that the union felt they were informed rather than 'collaborated with' and lacked meaningful input into decision-making.
    
8. Whilst most reports did include information about the outcome of the engagement with the recognised trade union(s)/ employee representatives, a significant minority did not.
    
9. Two bodies used the wording that the trade union/ staff representatives had been ‘consulted’ on their reports rather than that it had been agreed with them. Three bodies stated that their report had been co-produced with their recognised trade unions.
    
10. There was often a lengthy gap between submission to the SPC and publication of the reports. The reports were published in a variety of places on the bodies’ websites, generally under either ‘Partnership Working’ or ‘Key Publications’ though two reports were integrated into the Annual Report and Well-being Report. However, two bodies published their reports as part of minutes of a meeting rather than as stand-alone documents and one published theirs under ‘Pay Policy and Gender Pay’.

Information requested by the SPC

11. A majority of bodies reported that there were meetings (both formal and informal) between employers and trade unions/staff representatives during the reporting period, though the frequency, subject and quality of discussions was not always clear.
     
12. Most reports didn’t provide evidence that training on the Social Partnership duty had been provided. The training that was mentioned is as follows:

• the Welsh Government online training package on Social Partnership and the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act (SPPP Act)
• a short session on Social Partnership provided for the body’s trade unions as part of an event
• internally developed training on the Social Partnership legislation (alongside other subjects) rolled out to managers and senior trade union partners
• workshops on the requirements of the Social Partnership duty delivered at social partnership meetings
• a joint refresher workshop on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (WFG Act) for trade union colleagues
• eLearning being made available on the body’s learning platform
• and a facilitated session provided to all staff with all new starters required to familiarise themselves with the WFG Act and the SPPP Act

13. Many examples of where social partnership activity was progressing well in the public body were provided. A range of these are set out in Annex A. However, other bodies reported that Social Partnership activity was progressing well without providing specific examples.

Other findings

14. One body did not have recognised trade unions though it commented that this may change in the future.
     
15. Almost all reports were submitted as Word documents/ PDFs though one being submitted as a PowerPoint presentation, with another three were integrated into wider reports.   
     
16. All reports, apart from two, often included extensive information about wider operational matters not caught by the duty (for example, workforce decisions).
     
17. Several reports alluded to further work in the future to more fully embed social partnership in their strategic decision-making processes.

18. Once all published reports have been submitted to the SPC Secretariat, a full analysis report will be presented to the SPC for consideration. 

Please see below a list of examples provided in the reports of Social Partnership working / activity progressing well. Please note this is not an exhaustive list.

• Completed a Social Partnership self-assessment tool in partnership with trade unions which found partnership health and strong
• In the process of developing a forward work plan to ensure trade unions are included in strategic processes in a timely manner
• The Joint Consultative Committee which, of the 16 members, comprises of eight Employee Representatives appointed by trade union side
• The Local Partnership Forum provides a structured platform for meaningful dialog with trade unions
• Going forward, the Trade Union Partnership Forum will have dedicated agenda time for the Social Partnership duty
• Engagement with trade unions is now part of the corporate plan development process
• Trade unions were an integral part of creating the 5-year corporate plan, which included its well-being objectives
• Following trade union feedback on the draft Corporate Plan, a subgroup of an existing forum was established to further develop actions on working together to deliver outcomes on sustainable practices
• Trade union representatives delivered a presentation outlining how the organisation works collaboratively as part of the corporate induction programme 
• Reintroduced a formal space for trade union colleagues to engage with senior managers in respect of key policies, delivery of robust and balanced budget and key service changes
• Held one hour session with relevant forum for detailed discussion on to discuss and debate on the wording of the body’s well-being objectives. “Through this open dialogue, a consensus was reached, resulting in a set of revised wellbeing objectives that better reflected the collective input”.  Also, a facilitated session was delivered on the SPPP Act to the entire organisation
• Social Partnership duty included as a standing item on the agenda of the joint trade unions / management forum. In addition, all policies and procedures are highlighted for consultation at that forum before they are approved
• Delivered a Social Partnership Conference, the first of its kind in Wales
• Developed a Social Partnership Action Plan which will lead to greater trade union involvement in wellbeing planning and other social partnership arrangements
• Early establishment of quarterly Partnership Forum which has been utilised used as a means to sharing the detail of our operational and business planning, including financial decisions, resources and governance and discussing our approach and communications with employees.