Zambia Federation of Employers

Transcription

1 Zambia Federation of Employers 1st Floor Electra House Cairo Road Lusaka Zambia Issue No:6 April Newsletter Monthly Newsletter of THE ZAMBIA FEDERATION OF EMPLOYERS Inside this issue: ZFE attends ILO s 90th Anniversary 2009 Tripartite Consultative Labour Council Meeting 2 4 Focus on the Workshops 5 Upcoming Events 6

2 FROM THE ED s Desk The Zambia Federation of Employers attended and represented its members at the Tripartite Consultative Labour Council meeting which was held at Sandy's Creations from April 23-24, The meeting was officiated by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Austin Liato, MP, who also chaired the meeting. to the Employment Act Cap 268. Included on the agenda was the review of the report of the Technical Committee of the Council held in March, 2007 and the consideration of the proposed amendments The meeting deferred the review of the Employment Act Cap 268 and that of the Statutory Instrument on Minimum Wages No. 56 and 57 to a Technical Committee that would be formed and will be composed of representatives from the Tripartite Consultative Labour Council. The Federation will be represented in this Technical Committee by Mr. Smart M. Phiri, Mr. Guy Phiri, Mr. Felix Mulenga, Mrs. Doreen Kabunda and Mr. Richard Denley. The deliberations during the meeting also included the effects of the global economic down turn on the Zambian Economy and its impact on the Labour market based on the reports provided by social partners. I wish to take this opportunity to thank members of the ZFE Board and those from the general membership that attended and made valued contributions during the deliberations of the meeting. Harrington Chibanda 1

3 ZFE ATTENDS CELEBRATIONS TO MARK ILO's 90th ANNIVERSARY AND WORLD DAY FOR HEALTH AND SAFTEY AT WORK The Federation joined the rest of the international community and the country during the celebrations that marked the ILO's 90th anniversary on working for social justice and the world day for safety and health at work on 28th April, Nomakanjani Arts doing a dance on ILO's 90 years of existence The theme for the 2009 World Day for Health and Safety at Work was Health and Life at Work; a basic Human Right. A number of companies exhibited products and services on Occupational Safety and Health. On the right is an exhibitor displaying Occupational Safety and Health products during the celebrations. 2

4 INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (IL)) PRESENTS 90 DECENT WORK AWARD TO FILM-MAKER, MUSOLA CATHERINE KASEKETI The International Labour Organization (ILO) celebrated its 90 th Anniversary on 28 April To mark this occasion, the ILO Lusaka Office has created a special one-off 90 Decent Work Award, to mark a significant contribution by a Zambian national to the ILO s global Decent Work Agenda. In December 2007, the President, HE Rupiah Banda, in his role as Vice President, launched the Zambia Decent Work Country Programme (Z-DWCP). The first priority area of this important programme for Zambia is Job Creation, with a special emphasis on women, young people and people with disabilities. Jobs are not easy to find, and the Decent Work Country Programme recognizes that it is women, young people and people with disabilities who experience the greatest difficulties in finding decent employment. Other priorities of the national Decent Work programme relate to combating HIV and AIDS and eliminating child labour, and these two themes are also touched upon in a skilful manner as the story of Suwi unfolds. While Musola Catherine Kaseketi has for many years demonstrated her individual entrepreneurial and artistic skills, particularly through her film-making endeavours, her last film, the Zambia-Finland co-production, Suwi, has made a significant statement about the situation of a bright young intelligent women, Suwi, with physical disabilities as a result of a traffic accident, said ILO Director, Mr Gerry Finnegan. Indeed, in the context of the Zambia Decent Work Country Programme, the main character, Suwi, encapsulates each of the three specific target groups she is a woman, she is young and she has a physical disability. As Suwi tries to rebuild her life following the tragic accident, the most important thing for her is to find a job where she can belong once again in society. In fact, this almost becomes her obsession. What the film does is shine a very bright light on the problems and issues that people with disabilities experience when they try to meaningfully engage in the labour market and find a job that meets with their qualifications and experience. For Suwi, a job is the most important thing to give meaning to her life. The ILO Director also complimented the award-winning film-maker, saying Ms Kaseketi s work in writing and directing the movie will undoubtedly help many employers, workers and society in general to understand the challenges that people with disabilities experience in trying to find gainful and decent employment. Ms Kaseketi herself, as a woman with disabilities, has managed to excel in her chosen field, and makes great efforts to share her expertise and enthusiasm for film-making with many young people who she is proud to have trained along the way. The ILO Lusaka Office hopes that the trophy and cash that goes with the ILO@90 Decent Work Award will enable Ms Kaseketi to make further progress with her undoubted film-making talents. 3

5 ZFE ATTENDS THE TRIPARTITE CONSULTATIVE LABOUR COUNCIL MEETING ZFE President, Dr G. Chabwera, ZCTU President Mr. L. Hikaumba with and ILO Director Gerry Finnegan Hon. Austin Liato, Minister of Labour and Social Security, MP, Dr. George Chabwera, Zambia Federation of Employers President and Mr. Leonard Hikaumba, President of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions sharing a light moment during recess. The following is a list of ZFE representatives at the tripartite meeting; 1. Dr George Chabwera, ZFE President 2. Mr. Howard Gatchell, Vice President Copperbelt 3. Mr. Mukubesa Sanyambe, Vice President Midlands 4. Mr. Evans Mukuwa Vice President Southern Province 5. Mr. Eugene Apple, Member Copperbelt 6. Mr. Smart Phiri, Trustee ZFE 7. Mrs. Noriana Muneku, Trustee ZFE 8. Mr. Christopher Pasomba, Trustee ZFE 9. Mr. Guy Phiri, Director ZFE 10.Mr. Alex Kapesa, Member ZFE 11.Mrs. Nyangu Kayamba, Member ZFE 12.Mrs. Lewis, Member ZFE 13.Mr. Harrington Chibanda, Executive Director ZFE 14.Ms. Mwenya Kapasa, Economist ZFE 15.Mr. Daniel Mwewa, Accountant ZFE 4

6 ZFE HOLDS WORKSHOP ON ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT FOR ITS MEMBERS IN SIAVONGA The Federation held a workshop in Siavonga Manchinchi Bay on ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT-DEVELOPING EXCELLENCE IN INDI- VIDUALS training programme which focused on preparing managers on coping with today s accelerating roles of change diagnosing problems, preparing managers to be flexible and adaptive in today s rapid changing and competitive environment and implementing appropriate changes to programs. The workshop was attended by 10 participants from ZFE member organizations who were in the categories of human resource managers, training managers, organisation development managers, line managers, and those from finance section. FEDERATION ATTENDS INTERNATIONAL MEETING The Federation was represented at a workshop on How to Manage Your Business During the Crisis and How to Reduce Costs and Go Through Difficult Times in Mauritius organized by the Pan-African Employers Confederation and the Mauritius Employers Federation by Mr. Steven Lyell Raelly, Managing Director of Morning Star Consultancy a member organization of ZFE. The objectives among others included; Learning the strategic management principles and processes Getting information on the Global Economic Crisis and Better Understanding your Business Position and Raising awareness of the best world practice of strategic management in the conditions of the Crisis. 5

7 UP-COMING EVENTS. ZFE will be represented by Mr. Mbale of Ndeke Hotel at a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya running from May,2009.The workshop will focus on The Financial Crisis, Economic recovery and Employment in Africa and has been organized by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) ZFE TO ATTEND A MEETING IN ZIMBABWE Ms. J Mulenga of National Authority, a member of ZFE will represent ZFE at a workshop on Labour Law Reforms under Restructuring Economies: How to manage new forms of Employment Relationships. The workshop will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe from May,2009. ZFE BOARD PAYS A COURTESY CALL ON KCM ZFE Board of Directors will pay a courtesy call on the management of Konkola Copper Mines, KCM, on 19th May, ZFE HOLDS A WORKSHOP FOR SECRETARIES The Federation will hold a workshop on Secretaries and Executive Assistants Organisational Development in Siavonga Lake Safari Lodge from 21-22nd May, For more information about these events, please contact Ms. Mildred Mukuma or the secretariat on Telephone or Fax , Lusaka. 6