The medium-sized chemical company Büsing & Fasch (BÜFA) is the first firm to win the „Olly“ for particular family-friendliness. The minister of economic affairs of Lower Saxony Walter Hirche and the mayor of Oldenburg Gerd Schwandner handed the prize over to the BÜFA director Werner zu Jeddeloh on November, 23rd during a ceremony at the vocational school in Wechloy.
The jury justified its decision with the companies‘ broad conceptional approach for family-friendliness. The firm founded a steering committee “Job and Family“ that developed company guidelines how to arrange job and family best. Furthermore the company also participates in the working group „Arranging Job and Family“ of the Federation of German Trade Unions. BÜFA has announced a family coordinatior who is partly released from work for this reason.The coordinator is the contact person for employees and develops actions like child care support during school holidays or the opening of a company nursery school. Individual working schedules, a social fonds for newborns, family events, job-sharing, „passport“ for becoming parents and communication about the company magazine „BÜFA aktuell“ round out the service.
In 2007 the city of Oldenburg awarded the „Olly“ for the first time to particular family-friendly companies. Even though the prize is not endowed 14 firms and institutions participated in the contest. Mr. Schwandner said: „All competitors offer family-friendly strengths and are great examples to other companies. Therefore we will award this prize now regularly.“
The „Olly“ is a kangaroo with family in its pouch and was designed by the Oldenburg artist Klaus Beilstein. Instructed by Mr. Beilstein it was manufactured in the Oldenburg social youth facilities.
Members of the Olly jury: graduating class of the commercial high school, mayor Gerd Schwandner (chair), equal opportunity commissioner of Oldenburg Kornelia Ehrhardt, director of the youth welfare office Frank Lammerding, Arbeitgeberverband Oldenburg e.V. Jürgen Lehmann,editorial manager of the Nordwest-Zeitung Rolf Seelheim, chairman of the cities‘ parents council Bernd Siegel, director of business development Klaus Wegling, and Federation of German Trade Unions Margrit Welzel.