David works at a five-star hotel in the heart of Kampala. He graduated from university three years ago. David, who requested his real name not to be used, feels his kind of job is highly uncertain.

The hotel only calls on him when they have big events. He is never sure about his next working day or salary. But David and dozens of others have to be on call when needed because payments are determined by the number of shifts and working days.

Now, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working on labour rights, trade and investment have expressed deep concern over increased casualization of labour, which they claim has mostly benefited employers.

Labour casualisation refers to a trend in which employers increasingly rely on temporary or part-time workers, rather than hiring full-time employees. Casual work offers little job security, uncertain and irregular working hours, low and unpredictable wages, according to CSOs.

According to the CSOs, casualization of labour is rampant in factories, on plantations and commercial investment schemes, where workers are employed without formal contracts, hence no job security. This also means limited access to remedy for human rights abuses by business operations.

The gender minister, Betty Amongi (right) with employees of Royal Van Zanten farm as the manager, John Van Vredendaal, looks on.

“This is partly because there are glaring gaps in labour rights policies and the administration of the existing laws, which has contributed to the rampant casualisation of labour, fissured employment relationships, poor and precarious working terms and conditions, unfair dismissals, low wages and insufficient social protection,”

Peninnah Mbabazi, a policy analyst at the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade, Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), says temporary and part-time workers often have less job security, fewer benefits and less access to training and advancement opportunities than fulltime employees.

However, to employers, casual employment provides significant flexibility, allowing them to rapidly adjust staffing levels to match fluctuations in demand for a business’ goods and services.

Analysts say increased casual work in Uganda’s labour market may lead to a sense of instability and insecurity, which can have negative impacts on mental health and overall well-being.

“Layoff and non-payments are some of the challenges that workers are facing,” Usher Wilson Owere, the chairperson General of the National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU), says.

“Most companies are creating jobs at top management levels and most of the work is outsourced. The lack of a minimum wage has created a very big gap.”

The Uganda annual National Labour Force Survey of (NLFS) 2021 revealed that the majority of employed persons (67%) were recruited on the basis of oral agreements. Only 33% had written contracts.

On job search, the survey highlights that majority of the Ugandan employees (60%) acquired their current main jobs through friends or relatives. Nearly 20% were recruited directly by the employer, whereas only 16% found the jobs through a newspaper job advert.

“The biggest number of jobs in this country are in the informal sector. If you are to make a youth work for 30 years without a contract or security, what are you promoting? They will only retire to poverty,” Robinah Kagoye, the executive director Voice of Labour, says.

The NLFS 2021, conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), asked employed persons whether they are entitled to paid annual, sick or maternity leave, as well as retirement benefits and medical or health insurance.

The findings showed that overall, 27% of employees received any workplace benefit, where majority of these were aged 31-64 years (32%) and majority being urban dwellers.

The findings further revealed that the least percentage of the employed persons benefited from old age/ pension or retirement insurance schemes (17%). On the other hand, 73% of employees do not receive any workplace benefits.

This can be attributed to informal employment and working in private establishments that may not adhere to existing laws on workplace benefits, according to the UBOS report.

MINIMUM WAGE

CSOs say the workers’ situation is made even worse and untenable as a result of the “unfair existing minimum wage of sh6,000.”

They say the rate has not been reviewed since 1984. The lack of a viable minimum wage in place has exposed workers to gross economic exploitation and income inequality.

“About 23.6 million Ugandans are eligible to be employed, but only about 10.3 are employed. People are paid less than a dollar a day. We need to make sure there is decent work for all Ugandans,” Jospeh Byomuhangi, the project co-ordinator at the Uganda Consortium of Corporate Accountability, said.

While celebrating the International Labour Day on May 1, President Yoweri Museveni advised: “We should focus more on how to create enough jobs for all Ugandans, as opposed to discussing the welfare and enhanced remuneration of the few employed Ugandans.

“Whereas the welfare and remuneration of the workers is important, the need to create more jobs and do away with unemployment is more of the concern for the Government.”

WORKING CONDITIONS AND PROPOSED REFORMS

Uganda’s Annual National Labour Force Survey 2021 shows that 35% of the working population was exposed to dust, fumes or chemicals, with proportions of 42% in industry, 39 % in agriculture and 30% in services.

“We want the labour administration in the country to be strengthened. We need to have our own ministry of labour. You cannot be ministry of labour, gender and social development. Issues of labour need to be prioritised because they are the most underfunded in the budget,” Owere said.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates, every year, 2.3 million people die due to occupational fatalities, 2.02 million of which result from work-related diseases. This is equivalent to 5,500 deaths every day.

As these figures suggest, these are too many avoidable fatalities.

According to Robert Kirenga, the executive director of the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Uganda, human capital should be protected at all cost.

“The excuse of limited resources is due to lack of prioritisation. Do you need to have over 120 advisors when you have all these ministers? We need to prioritise and invest resources in key sectors,” Kirenga said.

The CSOs proposed that the Government should consider increasing the number of labour officers (at least two in each district) and ensure that they are fully equipped and capacitated to deliver on their duties and responsibilities.

The civil society also calls for the review of the Employment Act, 2006, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2006 and Workers’ Compensation Act 2000 to protect workers’ and communities’ right to dignity and livelihood.