New member of the Fair Work Convention, Dawn Roberts reflects on fair work and representing the Local Government in this months members blog:
With a Local Government workforce of more than 250,000 in Scotland, local government as a sector is a significant employer. I take great pride in the commitment and work my colleagues do every day, week, month, year in supporting our communities and working together to make a difference.
When I was first appointed to my current role for Dumfries and Galloway Council, I shared with colleagues across the Council my core value of fairness. Fairness above everything else, across all aspects of our work. And my commitment to fairness and how I seek to apply it in the workplace reflects the core principles of Fair Work – listening to colleagues, encouraging them to speak about the things that matter to them, a commitment to developing people to achieve their full potential, promoting respect for others, addressing barriers. But making these principles real and tangible for such a large workforce takes effort, action, and persistence. But the benefits for individuals, for our customers and communities, speak for themselves.
As one of 32 Council Chief Executives across Scotland, it is a real privilege to represent Local Government on the Fair Work Convention. I feel strongly that there is much to learn from different sectors in applying the principles of Fair Work, and I look forward to contributing to the convention and learning from other sectors. Through the Convention, we can learn and improve together.