APFHRM UPDATE
APFHRM delegates meeting was held in Hongkong on November 6, 2005. New set of officers have assumed their positions. Based on agreement, the officers for the next two years will be as follows:
President: |
Madame Ho Geok Choo of SHRI Singapore |
Vice President: |
Indian Subcontinent |
Secretary General: |
Gerardo Plana of PMAP Philippines |
Treasurer |
Chatphong Wongsuk of PMAT Thailand |
Furthermore, after a nomination and election process, Jo Mithen of Australia will be the second delegate to World Federation Board.
APFHRM’s Ongoing Projects include:
1. APFHRM Booklet – it is envisaged that this document which contains basic information about the Federation will be useful in promoting awareness of the existence of the Federation.
2. Membership Drive – the Federation continues to network with Macau, Korea and Vietnam for possible membership in the Federation.
3. Exchange Program – Sri Lanka and India tried this first. The other countries are being encouraged to do the same. The objective is to give opportunities for HR practitioners to visit other countries and get to know how HR is practiced.
4. International Certification/Accreditation – the objective is to identify HR brand of
competencies for the Asia Pacific Region and then to launch a
certification/accreditation process.
5. Asia Pacific Award – the objective is to recognize outstanding HR practitioners in the Asia Pacific Region.
6. 2006 World Congress – the objective is to support the upcoming event through promotion efforts in each country.
7. Website – the objective is to share information about the Federation and to give information to others.
Schedule of Next Meeting
Next meeting is scheduled in Singapore in March 2006.
COUNTRY REPORTS
Bangladesh
Bangladesh came into existence on 16th December 1971 and it is situated in between India and Burma. The area is 55.598 sq.miles and the population is about 150 million. Time: 6 hours ahead of GMT, GDP is about 6%, Capital Dhaka. Currency: Taka, Average annual rainfall: 1429 mm- 4338 mm. Language: Bangla but English is widely spoken. Winter temperate: Min.6 and Max. 15 and summer temperature; Min.21 and Max.40. Natural resouces: Gas, Hardrock, coal, limestone, etc. Exportable items: Jute, Tea, ready made garments, fish, crockeries, etc.
Begum Khaleda Zia is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and her party ie, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, secured majority in the last election that took place in October 2001.
Bangladesh (IPM)
The Institute was set up on Mary 23,1980 and it has now over 500 members. It has three types of membership – Associate, Member and Fellow.
The Institute is being managed by an elected Executive Council consisting of 25 members and this Council is elected every year in March at the time of the Annual conference.
Alhaj Anwarul Azim, formerly Managing Director of M/s. Magura Paper Mills Ltd, was elected President and Syed Azadul Huq, formerly General Manager(Personnel) of Philips Bangladesh Ltd and its associated Companies in Bangladesh and presently an Advocate and Human Resource Management Consultant, was elected Secretary General at the last Annual Conference.
The Institute publishes an annual Journal - The Personnel – and a quarterly Journal – IPM Newsletter. It maintains close relationship with other professional institutes in Bangladesh.
The courses conducted by IPM are quite popular and at the moment the following Diploma courses are being conducted by the Institute:
a) One year duration Higher Diploma course in Human Resource Management
b) One year duration Diploma course in Labour Law
c) One year duration Post Graduate Diploma course in
Human Resource Management
Besides all these Diploma courses, the Institute occasionally conduct short Certificate courses during daytime and these courses are very popular among the participants.
The Institute is going to start a Master in Human Resource Management course in collaboration with a reputed private university.
IPM ‘s Award for excellence in Human Resource Management was introduced last year and nine senior HR managers of Bangladesh were given this Award in recognition of their long service in the field of Human Resource Management at the Silver Jubilee function of the Institute. From now on some companies in the private sector will also be given IPM’s Award for excellence in order to encourage them to take more interest in the field of human resource management.
The Institute has got the following two types of services for the employers of Bangladesh:
a) Employment services Under this scheme, the Institute helps the employers at the time of selection of HR Managers.
b) Advisory services Under this scheme, any member or employer can get legal assistance from the Institute concerning Labour Laws/Industrial Relations/Human Resource Management.
IPM website: The Institute has a website www.ipm-bangladesh.com and members and others interested in IPM activities frequently use it. IPM’s email address is ipm@bol-online.com
Major 2006 events
The election of the office-bearers of the Executive council will be held at the end of March 2006 and it will be followed by our Annual conference of the Institute. Then there will be annual dinner to be followed by a cultural function in the middle of 2006. If possible, we will also try to arrange a picnic party for the members of the Executive Council within a very short time.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Papua New Guinea is only 30 years old since Political Independence. As a developing country, the country has its challenges.
2005 has seen the country turnaround economically due mostly to the high prices of oil and gold and furthermore political stability.
The country's HR challenge is the bridging of the gap between stone-age and cyber age. While the country’s workforce is still inexperienced in many major mining and petroleum projects, the country is changing the policy to educate every child and increasing the "drop out or push out" level to year 8 instead of year 6.
The country still depends heavily on foreign expertise especially from Australia. The government localization policy has been relaxed to make it attractive for foreign employment in key government and private sector positions.
Training and more training and total human development initiatives will bring lasting, sustainable social and economic development. 2007 being the year for the national general elections there is a high chance that the Politicians will divert scarce government funds to projects and programs that are more likely to increase their chance of political gain, not necessarily the development of the country.
What happens when you do not have the human capacity to develop your economy, while negotiating the economic development as the basis for funding human development initiatives? Like many other countries, the human capability is readily available upon which economic development can ride. PNG however has to negotiate, thus a difficult and challenging time for our leaders.
NEW ZEALAND
Human Resource Institute New Zealand (HRINZ)
Membership
HRINZ currently has in excess of 2700 individual members. This has more than achieved the Institute’s objectives. There is now a consistent net annual growth of over 15 per cent. Our membership density now represents about 40 per cent of the total potential pool of HR practitioners operating in New Zealand.
The current executives of HRINZ are:
• National President: |
Geoff Summers AFHRINZ |
• National Vice President: |
Jim Pope MHRINZ |
• National Vice President: |
Bill Shields Bill AFHRINZ |
• Immediate Past President: |
Ross Pearce FHRINZ |
Activities
HRINZ has had yet another a busy year with Professional Development Programmes being delivered in locations in both North and South Islands. There is a steady flow of new Members and a full PD programme is under way. Key courses offered by HRINZ in 2006 include:
Name of Event |
Duration |
Description |
Date |
HR Foundations |
3 days |
A workshop that familiarises participants with HRM best practices in a wide range of HR functions |
14-16 February, |
Measuring, Reporting and Leveraging HR |
2 days |
A workshop which will challenge HR practitioners to 'shift' their thinking and focus from a transactional to systematic approach |
27-28 February |
Strategic HR Management for the Public Sector |
4 days |
Provides leading edge knoweldge and skills for the strategic people management |
9-12 May |
1. Due to the increase in membership, a new branch will be created in South Auckland, plus new groups are now meeting in provincial areas.
2. The HRINZ HR Initiative of the Year Award is now in its 7th year and the Person of the Year Award is in its 4th year.
3. The 2006 National Conference will take place in Wellington from 13 to 15 September. The theme of this year’s conference is: 'Vision - living the future today; what we stand for and what we seek to achieve’
4. Professional [Certificated] Membership is steadily increasing as a result of the new online application process. The Institute now has almost 300 Professional Members. This represents almost 15 per cent of total membership.
5. The Institute has commenced awarding Specialist Professional Membership. Members can now apply for this grade of membership with specialisations in Employment Relations, Recruitment, Health and Safety and Learning and Development.
6. The Institute has a Strategic and Annual Business Planning Process and has a number of sub-committees working on projects. The Career Development Project [CDT] team is looking at various ways of enhancing the membership benefits:
a. The CDT has initiated a broker arrangement with coaches all around New Zealand who will provide coaching services to our members for a discount.
b. The CDT is also working on a Log Book for members to maintain, for the purposes of their career development, applying for Professional Membership and to present to prospective employers.
c. The Competency Review Group is examining the HRINZ Professional Framework with a view to possibly expanding competencies.
7. The Gradings Panel regularly meets to review Professional Membership of the
Institute.
8. The Institute carried out a nationwide Remuneration Survey Project, the results of which will shortly be available to members.
9. The Institute has increasing engagement with Government, which has led to the Institute being consulted on overall employment issues. The CEO of the Department of Labour has recently featured in Human Resources magazine. The Department was a co-sponsor of the 2004 HR Initiative of the Year Awards and is also supported the 2005 Awards. The Department has a regular column in Human Resources magazine.
10. HRINZ is leading the development of an Asia Pacific Federation of HR Management website to facilitate regional collaboration and networks.
11. The Institute’s website (www.hrinz.org.nz) receives nearly a million hits most months from nearly 40,000 individual visitors and our bi-monthly magazine has expanded, with record advertising sales as a result.
12. HRINZ has also invested heavily in its infrastructure and have introduced an integrated events/financial/membership management system which will future-proof the Institute’s capability as it grows. HRINZ continues to be recognised as one of the most progressive, professional and desirable organisations of its type in New Zealand.
Appendix Household Labour Force Survey: September 2005 quarter
In the September 2005 quarter:
• Seasonally adjusted employment rose (by 26,000) to 2,093,000. |
• The seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate rose to 68.2 per cent. |
September 2005 quarter |
Quarterly change |
Annual change |
|
Unemployment rate |
3.4% |
-0.2 |
-0.4 |
Unemployed |
73,000 |
-6.0% |
-8.3% |
Employed |
2,093,000 |
+1.3% |
+3.5% |
Not in the labour force |
1, 012,000 |
-1.1% |
-2.3% |
Labour force participation rate |
68.2% |
+0.4 |
+1.2 |
 |
 |
PHILIPPINES
PMAP UPDATE
In our November 2005 elections, the following Officers were elected for the 2006 Board of Directors:
Atty. Emerico de Guzman |
- |
President |
PMAP’s membership stands at 1,101 corporate members, 10 charter members and 70 individual members including the 19 chapters throughout the country. About 350 belong to the top 1,000 corporations while the rest belong to medium and small-scale industries.
Major Projects Undertaken
1. Special Commission to Reinvent PMAP – PMAP will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. The mission, vision, structure, and by-laws of the Association were ratified in 2005. This Commission will make PMAP ready to face the challenges of the next 50 years.
2. Corporate Certification – PMAP is introducing the Investor in People certification from U.K. to Philippine companies. Focus is on SMEs under a grant program by European Union.
3. HR School - PMAP has a pending application to be a master’s degree-providing institution in HRM. The curriculum is about to be completed and faculty identified. It is aimed to position the school as the HR school in Asia.
4. Advocacy - PMAP continues to undertake high-profile advocacy projects in order to promote HRM in the country.
5. PMAP Annual Conference on September 27, 28 & 29, 2006 will be held in Manila. This will be a big event for PMAP since it coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the Association that will be commemorated on the last day of the conference.
2006 Philippine Economic Forecast
The Philippine economy is expected to grow by 5.0% this year due to an upturn in investment activities. Fueled by this expected economic recovery and the increasing remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), private consumption is forecast to register a growth rate of 5.5%, a 0.5 percentage point increase from 2005. The corporate income tax rate will rise from 32% to 35% starting from this year until 2008.
A law extending value-added tax (VAT) was implemented in November 2005 and an increase in corporate income tax is also due early this year, as the government has announced that a 2 percentage point increase in the VAT rate permitted under certain circumstances will be implemented on February 1st 2006, a move seen as essential in achieving a significant narrowing of the budget deficit by end-2006.
It is also projected that for this year, fully 30 per cent of the incremental revenue from the expanded VAT will be used for capital spending. The government has also scheduled massive infrastructure projects for the year, to promote growth in the north and south sectors of Metro Manila.
Given the scenario that increased value added tax will help boost public investment because of an expanded government budget, and that investments in the IT industry will begin picking up in 2006 due to increased confidence in the Philippine economy, gross fixed capital formation in the year is forecast to register a positive growth rate of 5.0%, a 9.0 percentage point increase than in 2005.
However, an expected difficult global environment might reduce GDP growth from an estimated 4.9% in 2005 to 4.7% in 2006, but lower oil prices and higher global trade growth and increased OFW remittances in late 2006 should allow GDP growth to accelerate to 5% by early 2007.
Exports due to stable growth of external demand are expected to grow by 4.5%, a 0.5 percentage increase from last year. Imports on the other hand is expected to grow by 4.4%, 1.4 percentage points higher than last year, which reflects the recovery of domestic demand. The inflation rate is expected to be at 6.2%, down from 6.5% of last year.
On unemployment, the government is optimistic that the rate will be lower for this year, with the government having embarked on vital fiscal reforms to generate the resources needed to fuel job growth over the medium term. According to the Philippines’ National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), unemployment in 2005 was particularly severe in the agricultural sector because of the El Niño drought. Since this year will not be an El Niño year, farm output is expected to be back to normal. Further, it is expected that more jobs would be created by the country’s sunrise industries, with call center jobs seen to increase by 60 percent this year.
There is also a real estate boom fuelled in part by call centers demanding more office space, and also brought on additionally OFWs inflows. This will consequently generate additional employment opportunities in the construction industry, while the government channels much funding support to the labor-intensive small and medium enterprises (SMEs), thus adding to the job total.
SRI LANKA
IPM Sri Lanka Update
Membership
Fellow Members |
31 |
Members |
71 |
Associate Members |
143 |
Affiliate Members |
232 |
Student Members |
550 |
Total |
1027 |
Founding date
The IPM Sri Lanka founded in the year 1959 and incorporated by an act of Parliament No. 24 in 1976.
Activities & Programmes
Study Programmes in Place
• Foundation Level
* Certificate Level
•* IPM Professional Qualification in Human Resource Management
• IPM Professional Qualification in HR
• A Master of Management Degree Programme in Human Resource Management in association with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Australia is now in progress.
New Programmes to be introduced
• Diploma in Training and Development
• Certificate in Counseling
• Certificate in Industrial Relations
• Certificate level Distance Learning Programme in HR Management
Stage II of the Secretariat Building
Construction to be commenced shortly.
Certificate Award Ceremony
Certificate Award Ceremony to be held on 19th May 2006. More than 1000 students will receive their Certificates for successful completion of the study programmes at different levels.
Corporate Social Responsibility
A Blood Donation Campaign to be organized with the participation of members, students and the general public.
To organize the distribution of food items, drugs and medical equipment to the main Cancer Hospital in Sri Lanka in association with reputed corporate bodies having close link and with the Institute.
National HR Conference & HR Service Provider Exhibition 2006
To be held on 28th and 29th June 2006. The Theme for the Conference: “New HR”.
