Having our own roots in the German Trade Union Movement, FES is convinced that no social justice can be achieved or sustained without an effective and powerful trade union system at national and international level. This FES programme component assists the Ugandan trade union umbrella organization as well as individual trade unions in strategy building, organization building, and in strengthening contacts to their Global Unions.

The umbrella organisation National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) has at present 20 affiliated member unions. FES Uganda is channelling most of its activities through this organization. Recently an effort has been made to create another federation, the Central Organisation of Free Trade Unions (COFTU).

A large part of the joint programmes implemented by NOTU and FES Uganda consists of training seminars for trade union leaders in the areas of organisational capacity building as well as communication, bargaining, mobilising and general leadership skills. Familiarisation workshops have been conducted for trade union leaders to inform them about current national and international economic issues and their effect on the labour world.

In accordance with FES precepts, special attention is paid to the role of women in trade unions. Activities on how to increase the proportion of women leaders in trade unions and on sensitisation to sexual harassment in the work place have been conducted. Result was a written policy on and programme of action regarding sexual harassment.

"Training the Trainer" courses have been conducted in the flower industry to increase the number of trainers and to filter the Occupational Health and Safety campaign down to the grassroots. In the last two years a strong Ugandan Teachers Union (UNATU) has been built up. Seminars studying, discussing and adapting the UNATU constitution have been held as well as capacity building seminars for the unions' members.

Our co-operation with the labour movement does not stop at national borders, but reaches through on-going programmes at both regional and international levels in conjunction with the Global Unions. The sharing of experience gained and the reporting of progress made in different parts of the continent lead to a more coherent, consistent and up-to-date approach by workers' organisations vis-à-vis the challenges presented by liberalisation and globalisation.