5 days' paid leave for volunteering among NCVO manifesto asks
23rd February 2010
Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, set out his vision of the 'good society' and the roles the voluntary sector and government should play to make this reality to more than 650 delegates at the body’s flagship annual conference.
As the UK’s largest umbrella body representing the views of more than 7,500 charities, NCVO’s manifesto is an important document for all political parties.
Mr Etherington said:
"I believe our organisations really do make a difference. We can provide a different approach and different solutions to the challenges we all face. But we cannot sit back and wait for politicians and business to come to us for those solutions. It simply won't happen. Instead, it is more important than ever that we define what we want our society to look like and say what role we can play in achieving that."
He called for all workers to be offered five days' paid leave each year to carry out volunteering roles as well as greater use of alternative banking models such as mutuals, co-operatives and credit unions to ensure people have fair and adequate access to financial services.
On campaigning, he said:
"Campaigning and advocacy have always been at the heart of our sector. We have driven social change on equalities, child protection and climate change, to name just a few. I believe that our willingness and ability to speak out when we see that something is wrong, is more important than ever. How people and communities cope in the coming years is down to us, through our work and through the demands we make of our politicians."
Other key manifesto asks are:
- For a Robin Hood Tax of 0.05% on banking transactions to raise money to protect public services, fight poverty and tackle climate change
- Protection of the legal right to protest and campaign, especially in Parliament Square
- A new Community Day bank holiday
- Local assets, such as community centres and town halls, to be transferred to communities where they would otherwise stand empty and neglected
The manifesto comprises six basic themes: climate change, strong democracy, good public services, an active society, financial security and fairness for all, and an enabling environment. The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action and Community Matters support the content of the manifesto.
Delegates at the conference also heard from Greg Clark, Shadow Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, who spoke about how voluntary organisations should be involved in tackling climate change.
Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector, the national leadership forum for America’s charities and not-for-profit organisations, will be speaking this afternoon about the impact of the recession and Barack Obama’s presidency on charities in the USA.
The results of NCVO's first photography competition for members will be announced by Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Olympics and Paymaster General, at a drinks reception later in the day.
Delegates are also taking part in a dozen workshops covering a range of topics from mergers, and measuring social value through to an introduction to social media through to getting ready for the forthcoming election.
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I think people on any payment type may choose to volunteer. Furthermore volunteering can deliver a wealth of benefits Self-worth, great fun, friendships and job opportunities can all be part of getting involved within a community. Volunteering may be an outlet for natural talents, a road-test for new career, or simply a handy way to meet new friends!
Thanks you for this nice article. Its really good
I see Brendan's point but I think overall this is a good thing. Volunteering has risen dramatically since the recession as people see it as a way to remain job ready following redundancy and many companies are preferring to donate staff time to charity as giving budgets face cuts. Increasingly local authorities are committing to employee volunteering policies where staff are given time to get involved in community projects and this serves an excellent way for civil servants to have a better understanding and appreciation of the third sector.
Volunteering can be a good idea, especially if it's paid for. I see how this can be implemented in all sort of businesses and how employees can relax by changing their routine for a few days. The best ideas do come when one's not pressured. About the buildings, I always wondered why there are so many empty churches when those could be shelters for homeless people.
Hello friends - well, it was Herbert Spencer who said, "Be bold, be bold and everywhere be bold." I'm inspired by the boldness of NCVO here.
I've posted the following on our blog and thought I'd be a small voice in helping to progress the debate.
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What would you think if your boss said: "Ok, you get paid 5 days off per year to volunteer, we encourage you to use them."
It could happen sooner than you think. Then again, maybe it won't.
Our pal Damien over at the volunteering portal Timebank posted on their blog about the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Manifesto calling for all companies to give 5 days off to their staff each year.
My thoughts:
V interesting. More than anything 5 days sends an unequivocal signal to working Britain that volunteering should be front of mind. The immediate next question is "Sounds interesting, any ideas about what to do for 5 days!?" That's where the problem comes in.
If Simple were a suburb on a map, the village of Volunteering would be on the other side of the planet. They aren't even remotely close to each other. So how can we expect hard-working and busy Britains to find something to do for not one, but five days? A 6-8 week process to complete your Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check, difficult to schedule orientation meetings and long-term time commitments make volunteering harder than sussing out a Rubik's Cube.
Rant over. Deep breath.
We couldn't agree more about wanting more people doing more good. It's good for individuals. It's good for Society. But it's GOT TO BE more simple, more about the fun, less hassle.
We've posted some more about a new wave of volunteering.
Thanks for the post Damien and let's keep thinking about simplifying doing good NCVO.
I see Brendan's point but I think overall this is a good thing. Volunteering has risen dramatically since the recession as people see it as a way to remain job ready following redundancy and many companies are preferring to donate staff time to charity as giving budgets face cuts. Increasingly local authorities are committing to employee volunteering policies where staff are given time to get involved in community projects and this serves an excellent way for civil servants to have a better understanding and appreciation of the third sector.
It's great to NCVO publicly supporting a policy that the volunteering sector, led by Volunteering England, has been campaigning for years on. I'm sure they, along with CSV, Business in the Community and the many other organisations that promote volunteerism - ourselves included - will welcome this manifesto and see it as a valuable contribution to incerasing the level of volunteering throughout the country.
I welcome NCVO's manifesto at a time of increasing uncertainty for voluntary and community sector organisations. Many third sector groups are struggling to adapt to the move away from grant funding towards the use of public and private sector-oriented procurement processes, whilst at the same time trying to cope with the effects of the recession. Simultaneously, public trust in our political system is at the lowest I have ever known. Consequently, any initiative which seeks to address these issues should be welcomed. It's time for the sector to get the credit (and the financial support) it deserves.
I fundamentally disagree about the proposal that employers should have to pay staff five days to volunteer. How did this proposal become a publicly stated intent of NCVO? Were members consulted? It seems NCVO is unaware that UK plc is in dire financial straits & to my mind loses NCVO any credibility in seeking to influence government.