WCVA Chief Executive, Ruth Marks talks about the new Social Partnership Council and the opportunity to become a voluntary sector representative.
WHAT IS THE SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL?
The Social Partnership Council is going to be a new body that advises Welsh Ministers on issues relating to social partnership, fair work and socially responsible procurement. It has been developed as a partnership between Welsh Government, trade unions and employer bodies connected with the public, private and voluntary sectors.
You can find out more about the Social Partnership and Public Procurement Act here, and you can also sign up to the Welsh Government’s Social Partnership newsletter.
WHAT’S WCVA’S INVOLVEMENT?
We were invited to be involved in the Shadow Social Partnership Council during the pandemic between May 2020 and July 2022. I was given the opportunity to regularly attend meetings and input suggestions on topics relevant to parts of the sector where there are the highest levels of employment, especially within health and social care, education, and social housing. I was also able to support the proposals to promote equality and diversity for the new Council.
FINDING A VOLUNTARY SECTOR REP
The Council, when set up will comprise of the First Minister as Chair, members of Welsh Government and 18 representatives from workers and different industries and sectors across Wales. The voluntary sector will have one place on the Council, and it is really important that we are able to nominate colleagues who can represent different experiences of employers and workers in the voluntary sector.
Through a combination of the Third Sector Partnership Council (TSPC) and our wider networks and connections, we need to identify individuals who are interested and able to be involved in this brand-new Council.
WHAT WILL BE THE ROLE OF THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR REPRESENTATIVE?
The role of the representative will be to attend meetings and support a two-way flow of information to feed in and feedback between the Council and the sector. Being an active member of the Council will require the time and background knowledge for reading papers, engaging with voluntary sector employers, and then adding insight in the Council meetings to ensure all members understand the issues that are of interest to our sector.
These issues might include fair work, the real living wage, aspects of commissioning, sustainability, equality of voices and impacts on service users, clients, and charity beneficiaries.
GET INVOLVED
Having a representative from the voluntary sector will guarantee that the voice of the sector is always heard.
As the organisation responsible for nominating the voluntary sector representative, we are encouraging colleagues working in the sector, volunteer trustees and other volunteers with experience connected with employment and the world of work, to consider this opportunity. Once we have submitted our nominations by 25 September 2023, the appointment will be made by the First Minister.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity during this process and have discussed the opportunity with key partners including the TSPC, Equal Voice Equal Power partners, Cwmpas, Community Housing Cymru and Disability Wales. We want to ensure that the nominees put forward are able to advocate for the diverse range of employers and workers within the voluntary sector.
NEXT STEPS
We’re hoping to spread the word about this opportunity as far and wide as possible within the voluntary sector, so please share this article with your colleagues, trustees, volunteers, and wider networks.
If you are interested in the opportunity to be nominated, please get in touch with myself at rmarks@wcva.cymru or our policy team at policy@wcva.cymru to find out more and submit an expression of interest.
We will be gathering all expressions of interest up until 15 September 2023 before collating and agreeing a short list of nominees to be put forward to the First Minister by 25 September 2023.