Over 70% of Ugandan workers lack legal contracts – Workers’ MP

Workers’ representative in parliament, Arinaitwe Rwakajara, has raised concerns about the employment conditions in Uganda, stating that over 70 per cent of workers are employed without legal contracts to safeguard their rights at work.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) Labour Force, Employment and Earnings report for 2023, only 38 per cent of Ugandan workers are employed in positions that match their qualifications; the remainder take any available job to survive.

“We are soon seeing medical doctors working as human resource managers, and communication officers working as doctors,” Rwakajara commented on the misalignment of job roles in the workforce.

Highlighting a startling discovery, Rwakajara recounted an incident during his tenure as chair of the committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development.

“One time, we invited a government institution to the committee and asked them to bring an accountant. The individual they brought was actually working as a gatekeeper. It was shocking, and we had to restructure that institution,” he explained.

Rwakajara also noted that a vast majority of the workforce, over 87 per cent, is employed in the informal sector. “Including those in agriculture, it accounts for 99 per cent of informal sector workers. Only one per cent of the population is employed in the formal sector,” he added.

Furthermore, he pointed out that 29 per cent of bosses in informal sector enterprises lack previous work experience. “They have never worked anywhere and don’t know how to engage and relate with workers. Yet these are the groups that employ most people in Uganda,” he said.

Evelyn Anite, the state minister for Investment and Privatization, also spoke on the subject, reflecting on her commitment to industrialization in Uganda as a means of job creation for youths.

“But speaking to over 50 workers’ unions in Uganda today, I realized that I need to add protecting workers’ rights such as health benefits, decent wages, and social security benefits to my list of passions,” she stated.

Rwakajara urged employees to focus on strategic actions within trade unions to address pressing issues affecting workers by building networks in security circles, courts, economic policies, and politically-driven areas.

“Trade unions have empowered workers worldwide to advocate for their rights. Even our forefathers, like Ignatius Musaazi, leveraged trade unions to combat colonization and achieve independence in East Africa. It’s crucial to show solidarity in trade unions to support workers’ rights,” he stated.

Rwakajara emphasized the necessity for workers to adapt and rebrand themselves within labour movement unions to avoid worsening conditions.

“If you don’t defend your rights, you are in trouble. Adopt the Social Movement Unionism approach, which aims at building alliances. It’s high time trade unions ally with other groups like political, economic, security, civil society, women, cultural, and religious groups to defend our rights,” he added.

He explained that when unions collaborate with these groups, they can exert greater pressure on governments and employers to address social and economic injustices at work.

This was discussed on Friday, April 26, at the Serena hotel in Kampala during a workshop on dealing with contemporary challenges in labour movement unions. Rwakajara also called on employees to combat corruption at work if they aim to transform the country into a place their grandchildren can be proud of.

He highlighted ongoing challenges such as corruption, unprotected workers’ rights, unfair wages, poor working conditions, individual contract bargaining, informal employment, and unfair labour practices which have hindered the country’s development.

He noted that employers have shifted from negotiating with trade unions or groups of employees to individual negotiations, exploiting workers’ desperation for jobs.

“The challenges trade unions face today were also confronted by Russians and Europeans in the 1880s in Europe, which contributed to their development. Let’s fight for our rights at work,” he urged.

Rwakajara criticized most employers in Uganda for not prioritizing labour as a crucial factor of production, which often leads to business failures within a year.

“Why do investors in Uganda pay for all other factors of production but gamble on paying salaries? It’s up to us, the workers, to fight for better working conditions,” he concluded.