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This section identifies the activities that were undertaken in the LMPP projects and the labour-management participation in LMPP projects. This section also examines the balance of labour-management participation.

5.1 Types of Activities Undertaken in LMPP Projects

The implementation of LMPP projects involved a variety of activities.

The types of activities undertaken to implement LMPP-funded projects varied greatly by the type of project and the issues addressed. For example, a large majority of the projects involved the formation of joint union-management committees. Many also indicated the involvement of a third party in the role of facilitator. Examples of third parties included non-profit organizations, researchers or consultants.

Workplace projects: Typical activities undertaken for workplace projects included workshops and specialized training sessions for labour, management and employees. The training sessions addressed topics such as technical knowledge on occupational health and safety, causes of absenteeism, and joint committees. Other projects involved the production of training and informational materials (such as brochures and videos), opinion surveys, policy-making and feedback sessions.

Workplace projects also generally involved specific liaison activities between labour and management. This was clearly illustrated in the case studies. For example, in six of seven case study projects, the project was led by a joint union-management steering committee. These committees met on a regular basis to oversee the implementation of their projects.⁹ A consultant was hired to lead the implementation of the seventh case study project. Additionally, liaison activities between union, management and employees were supported by a wide range of communications, including web-sites, employment fairs, articles in company and union newsletters, and information sessions with staff.¹⁰

Conference projects: Typical activities undertaken for conference projects included planning and organization of seminars, forums and roundtables. In three of the seven conference case study projects, the project was planned and implemented by a joint labour-management committee. In the remaining four case study conference projects, the project was initiated by a neutral or bipartite third party organization, such as a research centre.¹¹ Steering committees for the conferences selected speakers and papers for presentation, marketed and advertised the conference, and, in most cases, recorded and published the conference proceedings.

Research projects : Research projects generally involved a variety of methods: focus groups, roundtables, surveys and similar data collection. In two of the case study research projects, the result was a published paper of findings. The third research project case study involved the first phase of a multi-stage project and focused on educating labour and management about a process they wished to adopt. No published report was written for this project. In two of the three research case study projects, implementation was led by a joint labour-management committee. In the third case study, an external research team designed and conducted the research.

The most common obstacle encountered during the implementation of projects was pre-existing poor labour-management relations. Costs, funding and other issues were also noted.

The case study analysis identified a number of obstacles that were encountered during the implementation of the case study projects. The most common obstacle was pre-existing poor labour-management relationships. This was no surprise, since many LMPP projects were specifically developed to address a climate of poor labour-management relations. In these cases, participants often approached the projects with skepticism. Deteriorating labour-management relationships as a result of collective bargaining also interrupted three of the case study projects - and one of these included a nine-day strike. In another project, labour and management had difficulty coming to a common understanding of the project goals and workplace problems.

Problems with cost and funding were also identified as obstacles for some projects. In one case study project, for example, sponsors underestimated the cost of producing a video that used up unexpected project resources, and as a result of a resources shortfall, the sponsors were unable to produce a proposed web-site. In another case study project, a national conference had to be restructured as a series of regional seminars, due to the lack of resources, leading to a very different outcome than had originally been proposed. The participant survey confirmed that cost and funding were obstacles for some projects, with 25 percent of those interviewed in the larger survey indicating that these were limiting factors.

Other obstacles mentioned for specific projects included seasonal production problems, a lack of senior-level representatives, and (in one case) the effects of the events of September 11 on conference attendance. Lack of sufficient funds for translation was also an issue for some projects (12 out of 200 survey responses mentioned translation as an issue in the survey).

5.2 Labour-Management Participation

A high level of balance in labour-management participation was reported by both management and union representatives.

In the survey of project participants, a high level of balance in labour-management participation was reported by both management and union representatives. For example, 76 percent of participants surveyed indicated that the balance was equal. Where participation was not equal, a slight weight towards labour (16 percent of participants) was noted, as compared to a smaller weight towards management (8 percent of participants).

Similarly, in the majority of case study projects, labour and management participation appeared to be generally equal, although sometimes with slightly more involvement from the labour side, as evidenced by the number of active participants.

It should be noted, however, that in some instances, neither the management nor labour representatives were deeply involved in the implementation of the project. This was seen in the case study analysis, where six of the case study projects were implemented by a research centre, a research team or a production firm.

In many cases, the time commitment of labour and management participants was short, so that long-term follow-through was not possible. This appeared to be linked to the concept of the pilot projects as 24-month projects and to the regular turnover of personnel in workplaces. These factors were reflected in a number of concerns that emerged regarding the sustainability of LMPP project impacts (which is discussed further in Section 6.6 and also in Sections 8 and 9 of this report).

Footnotes

9	This meeting on a regular basis during the project illustrates the potential for spillover effects in other areas that may result from the regular meetings, such as opening communications channels.
10	Training was sometimes intended to prepare for projects and sometimes to diffuse ideas or issues emerging from projects.
11	In these case study projects, labour and management were more likely to be involved in the projects as participants.