FUE January 2023 E-Newsletter 2 - The Voice of Employers

ISSUE 48 | JANUARY 2023

AN OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE FEDERATION OF UGANDA EMPLOYERS

FUENEWS

THE VOICE OF EMPLOYERS

WORD OF THE ED

Dear Esteemed Member,

Happy New Year 2023!

We are excited to continue this patronage with you as an FUE Member. As the premier Employers’ body, we are determined to improve human resource practices, strengthen the industrial sector, improve infrastructure and enhance maximum productivity for socio-economic development to achieve Uganda’s Vision 2040.

FUE remains committed to strengthening existing partnerships with the Government to promote gender equality and social protection for economic growth as well as the Presidential CEO Forum, which has registered significant success in bridging the gap between public and private sector Employers since its inception. We would also like to expand the scope of our international relations and in this regard we kick started a partnership with the Netherlands Senior Experts (PUM) to offer support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We look forward to building bigger and greater partnerships at local and international level to achieve decent work.

The Federation will continue to recognise outstanding Employers who have applied best business practices through the Employer of the Year Awards (EYA) Survey and enhance employer competitiveness by providing accurate salary and compensation data to ensure Employers attract and retain the best talent through the FUE Salary Survey. We remain devoted to equipping women leaders with practical leadership skills and encourage Employers to enroll participants for the 20th and 21st Cohorts of the Female Future Leadership Program (FFP) commencing on 10th February.

In addition, mark your calendars for the 44th Annual General Meeting slated for Friday 24th March that will entail the election of FUE Governing Council and Committee Member Representatives. We look forward to your active participation in several high-level policy engagements to document Employers’ views on various policy positions in consultative meetings.

We are confident that 2023 will be a year of great achievements as the Employers’ fraternity remains devoted to service of our great nation.

Thank you,
Together for Employers.

Douglas Opio

Executive Director.

The Word of the ED
FUE-PUM Partnership
Tripartite Partners’ Workshop to Improve Prospects Initiative in Uganda
FUE Salary Survey 2023!
Female Future Program 2023!
FUE Training Calendar 2023!
FUE Membership Subscription 2023!
Reception Block Fundraising Drive
Upcoming Events 2023

FUE-PUM PARTNERSHIP

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) 2017 reveal that over 90% of the private sector in Uganda consists of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are important contributors to growth and employment in the developing world and create employment for a significant share of the Ugandan labour force.

We were honored to host representatives from the Netherlands Senior Experts (PUM), Mr. Ton Voortman, the Sector Coordinator Incubators and Business Support Organisation and Mr. Andrew, a Local PUM Representative at our head offices in Kiwanga-Namanve on 16th and 17th January 2023. PUM is an organisation of over 2000 Dutch experts based in the Netherlands offering knowledge on a voluntary basis in over 30 developing countries and emerging markets worldwide in order to foster business growth. PUM has assisted over 40,000 business globally since 1978.

PUM focuses on supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and business incubators to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. They offer trainings, seminars, coaching and send experts to assist SMEs thrive. The fields of expertise include Food Security, Health, Environment, Services, Industry and Trade.

We look forward to building a sturdy partnership with PUM to offer support and guidance to SMEs and Young Employers. Stay tuned for details on how to apply for a PUM expert to shape your business.

PUM has carried out a few projects in Uganda. Watch the video below to understand a few details of PUM projects.

TRIPARTITE PARTNERS’ WORKSHOP TO IMPROVE PROSPECTS INITIATIVE IN UGANDA

The Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and National Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU) participated in three-day workshop organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The main purpose of the workshop was to strengthen existing and future partnerships for effective and efficient implementation of the PROSPECTS programme in Uganda in line with the Government’s Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) commitments as outlined in the various sector plans. The workshop was held from Monday, 23rd to Wednesday, 25th January, 2023 at Speke Resort, Munyonyo.

The Partnership For Improving Prospects For Forcibly Displaced Persons And Host Communities Initiative In Uganda (PROSPECTS) is a project being implemented with the intention to facilitate transitioning from humanitarian to development-centered approach by improving access of host communities and forcibly displaced people to employment and livelihood opportunities through education, training, decent work, social protection and inclusion believed to be sustainable solutions to building a more inclusive, cohesive and productive society. The project is being implemented in the four refugee hosting districts of Arua, Terego, Madi-Okolo and Isingiro under three pillars – Inclusion, Self-Reliance and Sustainable Development for a four-year period with funding from the Government of the Netherlands in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank (WB).

Within the framework of this PROSPECTS Uganda project, FUE with the support from ILO implemented the following project components in 2022 in order to promote employment opportunities and decent work for the forcibly displaced persons and host communities:

Conducted three investor round table sessions and two Focus Group Discussions in the fore mentioned refugee hosting districts. As a result, investment opportunities and potential employers were identified and engaged in successful discussion. In addition, we enhanced FUE visibility among the refugee host communities besides strengthening collaboration with organizations operating in the refugee hosting communities.
Successfully conducted Employer of the Year Awards (EYA) including recognising employers who have been providing employment opportunities to refugees as one of the HR best practices.
Implemented Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in collaboration with DIT and National Water and Sewage Corporation (NWSC) by identifying individuals among refugees and the host communities (150) whose skills and knowledge acquired through work and life experiences needed to be certified. These individuals were identified, assessed and will soon be awarded Worker’s PAS Certificates to facilitate their integration into the labour market in Uganda.

There were various recommendations after the workshop such as encouraging implementing partners to improve the sustainability of the project, improving capacity to continue delivering project activities, increasing awareness of the targeted communities, enacting the necessary national policies and plans to support the project results, leveraging and creating synergies across project implementing partners as well as scalability of results to more beneficiaries. Additionally, the need to promote transparency, accountability and timely reporting by all implementing partners was emphasized.

FUE SALARY SURVEY 2023!

According to Pearl Mayer (2017), about 38% of employees leave their jobs as a result of “inadequate salary and benefits.” Similarly, the findings from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) study on employee retention factors indicate that more than four-fifths of employers had difficulty retaining employees. This complex labour market situation implies that there is no shortcut or substitution for valid, quality, salary survey data and compensation report.

In view of the above, FUE invites your company to participate in The FUE Salary Survey 2023. This survey is conducted annually to provide organisations with accurate salary and compensation data to attract and retain the best talent to enhance employer competitiveness. This survey targets all employers both FUE member and non-member companies in all sectors of the economy with specific focus on five sectors namely; Manufacturing, Agriculture, Health, Insurance, NGOs, Tourism and Hospitality.

Participation fees for FUE members will be UGX. 3,000,000/= and for FUE Non-Members will be UGX. 5,000,000/= to cover all survey related costs. We will issue a report containing the most recent market data on salary and other benefits for the participating companies at no cost after the survey process.

Click the link below to confirm participation

For more information contact Patrick Ajuna, the Policy and Research Officer on patrick.ajuna@fuemployers.org | +256 772 844 031 or Dan Okanya on dan.okanya@fuemployers.org | +256 754 738 563.

FEMALE FUTURE PROGRAM 2023!

The Female Future Leadership Program (FFP) 2023 Intake is Open! FFP seeks to inspire, motivate and empower women leaders to thrive in various spaces of work, leadership and business.

For more information contact Fatmah Nsereko, fatmah.nsereko@fuemployers.org or Joy Ebong, joy.ebong@fuemployers.org.

FUE TRAINING CALENDAR 2023!

Professional Development at the workplace improves productivity and enhances employee retention. Our Training Calendar offers various capacity-building trainings to equip Employers with relevant skills for business growth.

Click the link below to download

If you would like a customized training suited to your organisation needs, contact our Training Manager, Mr. Yusuf Nsubuga, yusuf.nsubuga@fuemployers.org or +256 702 780 515 | +256 783 717 110.

FUE MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION 2023!

Dear Esteemed Member,

It’s a new year and we are excited to continue serving the Employers’ fraternity.

As a member of FUE, you are kindly reminded to remit your 2023 Membership Subscription to enjoy all the membership benefits stipulated in your membership category.

The FUE 44th Annual General Meeting is slated for Friday 24th March 2023. All paid up members will participate in the Governing Council and Committee Member elections in accordance with Article 41 of the FUE Constitution.

You can upgrade your membership category. Contact us on info@fuemployers.org | 0392 777 410.

Together for Employers.

RECEPTION BLOCK FUNDRAISING DRIVE

Since the resolution of the FUE Governing Council to engage all members in the construction of the FUE Reception Block for the FUE Head Offices in Kiwanga-Namanve, we have received overwhelming support from various Employers.

We encourage all members that haven’t contributed to the building project to join this noble cause. The amount required to complete this project is One Hundred Fifteen Million Uganda Shillings Only (UGX. 115,000,000).

If you would like to participate in this project, kindly contact info@fuemployers.org | 0392 777 410.

We look forward to your positive response.