{"id":48483,"date":"2023-05-01T15:13:10","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T15:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs"},"modified":"2023-05-01T16:38:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T16:38:12","slug":"labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs","title":{"rendered":"Labour rights drown in sea of no-contract jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>Seven in every 10 employed Ugandans are working without a written contract, the government has said, making them vulnerable to labour rights abuses and job insecurity.<\/p>\n

Ms Betty Amongi, the Gender and Labour minister, said an increasing number of mainly private sector employers, prefer to subcontract, outsource or hire individuals without formal documentation to reduce operational costs.<\/p>\n

Uganda\u2019s Minimum Wage Bill:<\/b>A case of an ectopic pregnancy?<\/p>\n

The \u201cillegal\u201d arrangement, she noted, helps companies get labour without reflecting the individuals as employees on payroll which clothes them against the responsibility to remit pension contributions and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax or provide treatment or compensation to a worker injured in the line of duty.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany employers in industrial parks do not give employees written employment contracts, resulting in a lack of job security and union representation and yet it is a legal requirement in Uganda for the employer to provide an employment contract for each employee. In practice, just 30 percent of employees are engaged with a written contract,\u201d Ms Amongi said.<\/p>\n

She made the comments on Wednesday, but a final version of her speech at the maiden annual national labour conference held in Kampala was shared with us yesterday to correct inaccuracies in our reporting from the event about unemployment statistics in the country (see clarification on page 2).<\/p>\n

The minister noted that she discovered during on-site fact-finding trips to workplaces that majority of workers did not know their rights and obligations, including safe working environment requirement, and those aware were often afraid to speak for fear of losing their jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome employers resort to subcontracting and outsourcing services or hire workers temporarily to avoid responsibilities of compensating injured workers and dodging contributing to National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for employees,\u201d Ms Amongi said.<\/p>\n

Labour rights activists seized on the Cabinet minister\u2019s acknowledgment on the eve of Uganda joining the rest of the world to observe the annual International Labour Day, as evidence of the government\u2019s inaction on workers\u2019 plight.<\/p>\n

The theme for this year\u2019s national event to be marked in the eastern Namutumba District is \u201cpromoting positive work culture and ethics: A Prerequisite for increased investment, employment opportunities and household incomes\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is mandatory under the Employment Act, 2006 for employers to sign written contracts with new hires and remit monthly contributions under the revised National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act even if the employer has one employee.<\/p>\n

Minister Amongi was unavailable last evening to explain what she, as the line minister, or the government as a whole is doing to crack the whip on errant employers.<\/p>\n

The National Organisation of Trade Unions (Notu) Chairman General, Mr Usher Owere, in a rejoinder yesterday proposed that a separate ministry be created to address labour issues that are overshadowed in the Gender, Labour and Social Development docket by priorities about gender and minority groups\u2019 issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cLabour issues are not a priority in the ministry, the emphasis is put on other departments like women, youth, children and people with disability issues,\u201d he said, \u201cThe labour force is the engine of the country [and the] government should revise to create an independent ministry to handle labour issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

He flagged the lack of an \u201cindependent budget\u201d as a limitation in better enforcement of the country\u2019s labour laws.<\/p>\n

In the alternative, Mr Owere, suggested that labour matters should be moved and domiciled under the Ministry of Public Service, which handles hiring, promotion, reprimand and remunerations of public sector workers.<\/p>\n

Ms Margaret Rwabushaija, who represents workers in the 11th Parliament,linked the state of affairs where labour rights drown in a sea of no-contract jobs to desperations of jobless Ugandans willing to clutch on any employment in the wake of pandemic disruptions to the labour market and economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should remember that people lost jobs due to Covid-19, people are rushing to grab any job opportunity. As leaders we shall continue to sensitise workers to understand the roles of a contract,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Member of Parliament added: \u201cMany workers are not aware of why they need NSSF, job security and other rights. We have started following up on a number of companies that are hiring employees as casual labourers.\u201d<\/p>\n

We were unable to speak to Federation of Uganda Employers for an explanation on the practice, as reported by minister Amongi, of companies preferring to hire workers on temporary arrangements and often without a contract.<\/p>\n

In her comments last week, the minister noted that 1.3 million out of 11.3 million citizens who constitute Uganda\u2019s \u201clabour force\u201d are \u201cunemployed\u201d and nearly nine in even 10 jobbed individuals work in the informal sector where pay is half of remuneration for formal sector workers.<\/p>\n

There are up to 23.5 million Ugandans, aged 15 to 64, considered the \u201cworking population\u201d in a country Ms Amongi said had a 9.2 percent \u201cnational unemployment rate\u201d.<\/p>\n

The unemployment rate for youth, under Uganda\u2019s law defines as citizens aged 18 to 30, is higher at 13.3 percent.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Seven in every 10 employed Ugandans are working without a written contract, the government has said, making them vulnerable to labour rights abuses and job insecurity. Ms Betty Amongi, the Gender and Labour minister, said an increasing number of mainly private sector employers, prefer to subcontract, outsource or hire individuals without formal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":48481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-48483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nLabour rights drown in sea of no-contract jobs - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Seven in every 10 employed Ugandans are working without a written contract, the government has said, making them vulnera ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Labour rights drown in sea of no-contract jobs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Seven in every 10 employed Ugandans are working without a written contract, the government has said, making them vulnera ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-01T15:13:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-01T16:38:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1682937806.85.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Labour rights drown in sea of no-contract jobs\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-01T15:13:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-01T16:38:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs\"},\"wordCount\":838,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1682937806.85.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/labour-rights-drown-in-sea-of-no-contract-jobs\",\"name\":\"Labour rights drown in sea of no-contract jobs - 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