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DECP News 2007
 Screening of an Employers' Organisation DECP has developed a method for surveying the performance of an EO.
On the basis of an extensive checklist with parameters for 'representativeness', 'strategy', 'advocacy', 'revenues', and 'organisational structure' we can make an "X-ray" of an Employers' Organisation.
For more information, press Here...
 | | Logo of the ATE |
Fact-finding mission to Tanzania Jan Karel Bout and Andrew Moore visited the Association Tanzanian Employers (ATE) for a fact-finding mission between 26 and 28 November 2007.
The DECP was well received by the ATE and it became clear at the very early stages of the visit that DECP could provide assistance to the ATE. The Executive Director, Dr. Aggrey K Mlimuka joined the ATE some 18 months ago and together with his staff he had made an extensive programme to a.o. the Netherlands Embassy, the European Commission, several Ministries, the ILO, the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania and the Confederation of Tanzania Industries. Furthermore, a special meeting of the ATE Board was attended where Jan Karel Bout presented the work of DECP and the reason for the visit. The overall conclusion was that ATE and DECP could work on a number of issues together including: advocacy, communication, membership services and making of a Strategic plan. Andrew Moore stayed in Dar es Salaam one day longer to discuss some preactical details regarding DECP's assistance. | | Staff and board of CNP with President Sebastien Ajavon seated to the left of Bram Van Overbeeke |
Fact-finding mission to Conseil National du Patronat (CNP) in Benin From November 19-22 DECP visited Cotonou (Benin) for a fact-finding visit and for discussing a cooperation programme with the CNP.
The staff of CNP had prepared an interesting programme for Jean-Marie Standaert and Bram Van Overbeeke, amongst others with the Embassy of The Netherlands, the Chamber of Commerce, the Minister of Labour, the Ministry of Industry, as well as with the President, the staff and several Board members of CNP.
The climate for private enterprise is not very friendly and while political leaders recognize the importance of a dynamic and successful private sector, changes are occurring very slowly.
A majority of business are active in the informal economy and business is further hampered by daily power cuts due to reduced capacities of the hydro-power stations in the neighboring countries. Of Benin's workforce, 70 % is active in agriculture.
In December 2006, CNP elected a new dynamic president and an ambitious 'Comité directeur'. The new CNP leaders have the firm intention to develop the organization and to strengthen its impact on the economic and social life.
They expressed their interest for DECP to assist them in this transformation.
 The Ghanese Employers sign a partnership agreement with DECP At the Annual General meeting of the Ghana Employers' Association (GEA), held in Accra on November 13th, the President Mr. Charles Cofie and Director General Rose Anang signed a partnership agreement with DECP Director Jan Karel Bout.
In the agreement both parties pledged that GEA and DECP will cooperate –amongst others- on representation of interests, provision of services and Growth and on Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Andrew Moore, DECP Country Manager, will regularly travel to Ghana to support and consult GEA. It is the intention of both parties that the cooperation will be pursued over the years.
The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Ms Mary Chinery-Hesse, Chief Advisor to the President of Ghana, and the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Mr. Nana Akomea.
 Partnership Agreement with the Rwanda Private Sector Federation On October 24th, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) in Rwanda and DECP signed a Partnership Agreement, thus expressing their common desire to contribute to the strengthening of the employers' organisation, in the belief that the business and investment climate in Rwanda can thus be improved. Jan Bade, First Secretary Economic Development of the Netherlands Embassy, witnessed how Emmanuel Hategeka, Secretary General of PSF, and Jan Karel Bout signed the document.
Amongst others, PSF and DECP agreed to cooperate in the areas of capacity building, building member services that are revenue generating for the long term sustainability of the institution and improving communication tools with members. Andrew Moore, Special Advisor of DECP, has been appointed country manager for Rwanda. He will regularly visit PSF to coordinate matters related to the Agreement.
 | | Jacqueline Mugo, Executive Director of FKE, flanked by Jan Karel Bout and Andrew Moore |
Fact-finding mission to Kenya Jan Karel Bout and Andrew Moore (DECP country manager for Kenya) visited the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) for a fact-finding mission from September 26 until October 3. Apart from discussions with FKE themselves, the latter had also elaborated a programme including meetings with several Ministries, with the European Commission as well as with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Central Organisation of Trade Unions. During the monthly meeting of the Dutch Business Group, DECP was invited to make a short presentation on their activities.
Resulting from the discussions, it is clear that the FKE is respected as a voice of the private sector in Kenya. However, they could further improve their visibility.
Overall, the visit was very successful and a considerable amount of work can be done between the DECP and the FKE, amongst other things advice on how to improve training and management consultancy, guidance on setting up a weekly digital newsletter and advice on how to improve the costing structure for services regarding legal matters.
 | | Governmental House in Yerevan, capital of Armenia |
Fact-finding mission to the Armenian employers organisation UMBA DECP held a Fact- finding mission to the Union of Managers and Businessmen (Employers) of Armenia (UMBA) in order to learn more about the organisation and to discuss possibilities for cooperation with DECP. The visit started with a meeting with the president, Mr. Arsen Ghazaryan, and his staff. Other meetings took place with board-members of UMBA, the Union of Information Technology Enterprises, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Trade Unions and with the programme “Competitive Armenian Private Sector” (CAPS), funded by USAID. At the end of the visit, after the meetings with the local staff, DECP concluded that there is an interest for setting-up new services on “collection of social contributions”, on OSH and on “arbitrage”.  | | Indonesian shield |
Visit to KADIN, Indonesia On July 3rd a DECP delegation consisting of DECP Director Jan Karel Bout and special advisor John Lintjer had a meeting in Jakarta with a delegation of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry KADIN, headed by Kadin`s President Mr. Mohamad Hidayat.
In the days preceding this meeting, the delegation had meetings with the Minister of Manpower, Mr. Erman Suparno, several representatives of the Dutch and Indonesian business community and the Dutch ambassador Mr. Nikolaos van Dam.
With Kadin, the cooperation between Kadin and DECP was discussed, as was agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding which was signed in June 2006. The meeting's main agenda topic was Indonesia's competitive position. The delegations emphasized that competetiveness is a major topic on which both organisations -in a common effort- should join their forces and expertise. DECP pledged their willingness to support a project on priority-setting concerning competetiveness as well as to provide assistance in assembling relevant data.
 DECP meets NHO-PSD and ACT/EMP of ILO End of June, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) hosted an information meeting with DECP and with the director and 2 project managers from ILO ACT/EMP.
Each organisation informed about their activities in the countries in which they are active. The meeting was opened by Lars Berge, the general director of NHO, followed by a brief presentation by Thieu Korten on behalf of DECP. Afterwards, Mr. Jean-François Retournard, Director for the Bureau for Employers' Activities, informed about ILO's activities in some African and Asian countries.
Possibilities for closer cooperation and perhaps even joint participation in certain projects were discussed. Everyone shared the view that the meeting was very useful and that it would be followed-up next year with a meeting in Geneva.
 | | A handshake between Marcel Meyer and Jan Karel Bout, after signing the PA |
VSB Annual Meeting in Surinam Marcel Meyer, Chairman, and Rene Van Essen, Director general of VSB (Surinam Trade & Industry Association) invited DECP to attend their Annual Meeting, which took place on March 28 at Hotel Krasnapolski in Paramaribo. Jan Karel Bout held a key note speech on employer organisations' contribution to poverty reduction. During the meeting, a Partnership Agreement (PA) was signed between VSB and DECP. In this PA both organisations pledged to cooperate on a long term basis by exchanging knowledge and expertise and thus strengthen the position of employers in Surinam.
During his stay, Jan Karel Bout also had meetings with the Labour Ministry and the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation. Also, a visit was paid to the Dutch Embassy, the trade union Ravaksur and to ASFA (Association of Surinam Manufacturers).
During a meeting at VSB headquarters, the employers' organisations proactive role in improving the business climate was discussed. It is essential that the government diminishes the large number of regulations which are a handicap for doing business in Surinam. According to Jan Karel Bout, this will contribute to increase the size of the economy to the benefit of all; the government, employers and employees.
 | | GEA Board members and Thieu Korten (DECP) |
Fact-finding mission to Ghana From April 9 to 12 Thieu Korten and Bram Van Overbeeke visited Ghana at the invitation of the Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA). The GEA had organized an interesting and very informative programme. The interlocutors included the Deputy Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, the Executive Committee of the GEA, the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Association of Ghana Industries and the Netherlands Embassy .
GEA is a well developed Employers Organisation that may well serve as an example for sister organisations in other developing countries.
GEA feels that they lack analytical capacity, particularly in the field of labour issues and employment. They also underlined the need for expanding and deepening their expertise in the field of HRM and in particular on Occupational Safety and Health.
DECP therefore proposed a specialised training for a staff-member of the GEA with a view to develop a reliable data-base on labour and employment statistics. DECP will also provide or facilitate advanced training (for 10 to 15 officials) on the issue of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). | | Oseberg viking longboat at the Oslo Vikingship Museum |
DECP meets NHO-PSD
DECP met its Norwegian sister organisation NHO-PSD in The Hague on 4th of April to exchange information on their mutual activities.
NHO-PSD is running several projects, amongst others in sub-Sahara countries (Uganda, Ghana, Kenia) and Indonesia, countries where DECP is also active. To avoid overlap and to strengthen each other NHO-PSD and DECP decided to exchange information on the countries in which both organisations are active and to inform each other if new activities are developed in these countries.
NHO-PSD and DECP will meet each other in future on a regular basis, at least once a year.
 | | Thieu Korten and Bram Van Overbeeke with their Zambian discussion partners |
Fact-finding mission to Zambia
From 12 to 15 March, Thieu Korten and Bram Van Overbeeke visited Zambia for a fact-finding mission. The mission had been very well organized by the Netherlands Embassy and the programme featured a large number of consultations with a.o.the employers organisations Zambian Federation of Employers ZFE, the Zambian Business Forum ZBF as well as other organisation representing small businesses and farmers.
The DECP mission was concluded at a dinner at which all main players were present at the executive level. The ZFE and the ZBF agreed to explore possible options for closer cooperation.
Furthermore, the Zambia Tourist Councel requested technical assistance from DECP in the areas of advocacy and the standard-setting in the hotel business. DECP confirmed its willingness to try and mobilize expertise (with the assistance of PUM) in those two fields.
 | | The Conference Panel |
Mission to Zepce and Sarajevo On March 7th, Jean-Marie Standaert, special advisor of DECP, had a meeting with the management of the Union of Businessmen and Employers of Zepce in Bosnia-Hercegovina about their proposal for a cooperation with DECP. A joint conclusion of this meeting was that the Union should develop services for the members, for example training of SME’s. The Croatian employers' organisation HUP is willing to assist the Union in developing such a service. Furthermore, a network at the level of the Canton and a skills training programme for unemployed workers should be developed.
The next day Jean-Marie attended a conference on the role of business associations for the economic development in Bosnia and Hercegovina. This conference, organised by the Office of the High Representative in BiH (OHR) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, was well attended by approx. 150 participants, among which representatives of Embassies, the World Bank, ILO and IOE, the Chambers of Commerce and the APBiH (the Association of Employers of BiH).
Mr. Antonio Peñalosa, Secretary General of the International Organisation of Employers IOE, made a strong statement for free and independent EO's and promised to continue supporting the work of these organisations, as is the case with APBiH. He also mentioned the "strong support" DECP is giving in the region.
In the general conclusions, it was agreed upon that a first priority should be strengthening the social dialogue by installing an Economic and Social Council where discussions between the Government and independent employers' organisation can take place.
 | | Delegation of CNPM with DECP staff |
Fact-finding mission to Mali At the invitation of the Conseil National du Patronat du Mali CNPM (the Mali National Employers' Organisation), Jan Karel Bout and Bram Van Overbeeke visited this country from March 5 till 8.
The CNPM had organized an extensive and very informative programme, including the President and Board members of their organisation, the Dutch Embassy, several Ministers, the Trade Union and the European Delegation.
Agriculture is the country's main economic sector with export of mainly gold and cotton. Although the country is quite poor by international economic standards, the social cohesion is large: there is real solidarity among the population and there are no ethnic divisions.
The CNPM is the dominant employers' organisation in Mali and comprises of 33 sectoral associations. It has good relations with trade unions and the government but, as CNPM indicated, they would like to improve their effectiveness by receiving training in improving communication skills and social dialogue. CNPM and DECP agreed to work towards a constructive long-term relationship. At the end of September, ILO and DECP will jointly organise a seminar for French speaking employers organisations at which CNPM has been invited to attend.
 | | Mr. Aloysius K. Ssemmanda, Chairman FUE |
Fact-finding mission to Uganda From February 18-20, Jan Karel Bout and Bram Van Overbeeke visited Uganda at the invitation of the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), who had organised a very informative programme.
Uganda is clearly a developing country, but it has considerable natural resources, including mineral deposits of gold, copper and cobalt. It also has abundant rainfall and fertile soils. Logically, agriculture is the economy's most important sector. However, the country also has major problems with a rapidly growing population, unemployment and a business climate in need of improvement.
Among the many appointments (a.o. with the Minister of State for Labour, the Dutch Embassy and the Dutch Manager of the flower grower and exporting company Royal VanZanten), the FUE also arranged meetings with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), an umbrella organisation for the entire private sector, as well as with the Uganda Manufacturers' Association UMA, representing the interests of the manufacturing industry. Each business organisation has its own advocacy and lobby vis-à-vis the government. DECP has offered its support in sharing their knowledge with FUE on social and labour issues, as well as industrial relations. Together with the ILO training institute, DECP is organizing a training for high level executives of African employers federations. FUE will identify possible candidates to be invited to participate in this training, which is planned for mid May 2007.
 | | VSB delegation with DECP staff |
Working visit of the Surinam Trade & Industry Association (VSB) Chairman Marcel Meyer and general director Rene van Essen of the Surinam Trade & Industry Association (VSB) paid a working visit to the Netherlands from 29 January until 2nd of February. The visit was organised by DECP.
According to the VSB, the Surinam economy is in a difficult phase and the VSB wants to play a vital role in solving the problems. In a visit to the VSB in October 2006 DECP had offered its support to enhance VSB's capacity.
Meyer and Van Essen had elaborate consultations with both the team of DECP and VNO-NCW (chairman Wientjes and general director Van Kesteren). With the staff of VNO-NCW several items, such as vocational training, international trade and social security, were discussed.
During the week, visits were paid to the Ministries of Economic and Foreign Affairs, trade union FNV, the Social Economic Council, branch organisations for the metal industry (FME-CWM) and construction (Bouwend Nederland), the Employers' Federation AWVN and the Members of Parliament Kathleen Ferrier (CDA) and John Leerdam (PvdA). All organisations showed great interest in the economic development of Surinam and expressed their will to support the VSB. Both DECP, the branch organisations and AWVN are prepared to give the VSB a hand by advice on the spot, training programmes, educational material, etc. |
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