Are Ugandans in Iraq fully aware of the risks there?
Aug 23, 2005
PERSPECTIVE OF A UGANDAN IN CANADA<br><br><b>Opiyo Oloya</b><br>Dear Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, on Monday, while trying to justify the recruitment of Ugandans for security work in Iraq, you were quoted in the media.
PERSPECTIVE OF A UGANDAN IN CANADA
Opiyo Oloya
Dear Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, on Monday, while trying to justify the recruitment of Ugandans for security work in Iraq, you were quoted in the media.
This is what you said, “Why does it become slave trade when it comes to sending people to work as civil guards in Iraq and not the same when it comes to Ugandans washing toilets, cleaning streets, digging graves and all other manner of very undignified jobs in Western capitals?â€
Now, with such an elitist attitude toward those who engage in menial work such as cleaning toilets and the streets, is it any wonder that you lack an appreciation for the role that these workers play in developing the nation?
Indeed, your outburst echoes the short-sighted Uganda education policy that prepares students for non-existent white-collar careers over skilled trades. It is old school thinking that recognises law and medicine as legitimate career paths for secondary school leavers while trashing everything else. Well, Mr. Minister, in western capitals, specifically in North America, garbage collection, cleaning the street and working in the funeral industry are respectable career options with decent remunerations.
Sure, some students pursue academic work that leads to law, medicine, commerce, administration and so forth. Other students, however, choose trade schools for specific skills such as brick-laying, dry-walling, automotive service technician, woodworking technology, restaurant and food service, and yes, plumbing.
In fact, because of the numerous skills offered by different colleges, it is not unusual for a university graduate to move on to a community college to acquire a specific job skill. The same is also true for those children who initially choose college over university, but later move on to complete a degree course. Somehow, what was traditionally considered the option for those who “could not make it to university†has now become a legitimate career path for anyone who makes that choice.
More important, a career path in the skilled trades and menial work is nothing to sneeze at given the level of salary in the industry. In Toronto, for instance, according to statistics from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the brick-layer averages $28 per hour, a carpenter makes $22, a janitors $18, and baby-sitter gets $9 per hour. Yes, most baby-sitters attend colleges to get certification in early childhood education.
Now, listen to this carefully, a plumber — this is the person you call when your toilet is blocked and overflowing with the smelly stuff — on average earns $20 per hour, but the wage runs as high as $30.00. Moreover, plumbers often work 15-hour days and with overtime thereby earning as high as $45 each hour.
In fact, it is almost an accepted reality in Toronto that a plumber will net $80 to unblock a toilet, a job that takes a little less than 20 minutes at most. In other words, a plumber could pull in as much as $2,000 a day.
Here are some figures that will ensure you will never laugh at the street worker or toilet cleaner again. According to the Ontario Salary Disclosure list 2000, a certain Mr. Gavin Boyle listed as a plumber/pipefitter with Ontario Hydro One earned $104,921.44.
Meanwhile on the 2004 disclosure list, a certain Mr. Hendrik Bosman whose job title is that of Labourer Foreman for Ontario Hydro One earned a cool $112,554.17. On the same list, Mr. Angelos Bacopoulos, the General Manager for the City of Toronto Solid Waste Management (read this as garbage collection), earned a salary of $171,030.27.
Of course not every street sweeper earns this much money a year, but it does help put things into perspective. Mind you, for comparative purposes, the Canadian members of Parliament earn roughly $144,000 a year which falls far short of what Mr. Bacopoulos earned last year!
Mr. Minister, the objection against Ugandans working in Iraq is not about the nature of the job per se. Rather, the issue as raised in the New Vision is about informed consent.
Have those Ugandans in Iraq been fully informed about every ramification of working in that country, the risks involved, and especially the legal requirement of employer under Defense Base Act to ensure that there is insurance coverage? Are they, at a time when available information indicates that some security firms have lied to their employees about the nature of the work and available protection, aware that they could become fodder for suicide bombers? Are they aware that they could find themselves at the frontline of the war without proper training and equipment to be in the war?
Mr. Minister, compared to the Ugandans currently in Iraq, those working as garbage collectors, street sweepers and whatnot are in fact, well protected, generally have job security, possibly pensions, and many benefits. Most important, the 2002 statistics from the IMF indicate that Ugandans abroad remitted upward of $483m to the homeland.
That figure is likely above the half billion dollar mark by now. Now, is that something to be ashamed of?
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca
Opiyo Oloya
Dear Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, on Monday, while trying to justify the recruitment of Ugandans for security work in Iraq, you were quoted in the media.
This is what you said, “Why does it become slave trade when it comes to sending people to work as civil guards in Iraq and not the same when it comes to Ugandans washing toilets, cleaning streets, digging graves and all other manner of very undignified jobs in Western capitals?â€
Now, with such an elitist attitude toward those who engage in menial work such as cleaning toilets and the streets, is it any wonder that you lack an appreciation for the role that these workers play in developing the nation?
Indeed, your outburst echoes the short-sighted Uganda education policy that prepares students for non-existent white-collar careers over skilled trades. It is old school thinking that recognises law and medicine as legitimate career paths for secondary school leavers while trashing everything else. Well, Mr. Minister, in western capitals, specifically in North America, garbage collection, cleaning the street and working in the funeral industry are respectable career options with decent remunerations.
Sure, some students pursue academic work that leads to law, medicine, commerce, administration and so forth. Other students, however, choose trade schools for specific skills such as brick-laying, dry-walling, automotive service technician, woodworking technology, restaurant and food service, and yes, plumbing.
In fact, because of the numerous skills offered by different colleges, it is not unusual for a university graduate to move on to a community college to acquire a specific job skill. The same is also true for those children who initially choose college over university, but later move on to complete a degree course. Somehow, what was traditionally considered the option for those who “could not make it to university†has now become a legitimate career path for anyone who makes that choice.
More important, a career path in the skilled trades and menial work is nothing to sneeze at given the level of salary in the industry. In Toronto, for instance, according to statistics from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the brick-layer averages $28 per hour, a carpenter makes $22, a janitors $18, and baby-sitter gets $9 per hour. Yes, most baby-sitters attend colleges to get certification in early childhood education.
Now, listen to this carefully, a plumber — this is the person you call when your toilet is blocked and overflowing with the smelly stuff — on average earns $20 per hour, but the wage runs as high as $30.00. Moreover, plumbers often work 15-hour days and with overtime thereby earning as high as $45 each hour.
In fact, it is almost an accepted reality in Toronto that a plumber will net $80 to unblock a toilet, a job that takes a little less than 20 minutes at most. In other words, a plumber could pull in as much as $2,000 a day.
Here are some figures that will ensure you will never laugh at the street worker or toilet cleaner again. According to the Ontario Salary Disclosure list 2000, a certain Mr. Gavin Boyle listed as a plumber/pipefitter with Ontario Hydro One earned $104,921.44.
Meanwhile on the 2004 disclosure list, a certain Mr. Hendrik Bosman whose job title is that of Labourer Foreman for Ontario Hydro One earned a cool $112,554.17. On the same list, Mr. Angelos Bacopoulos, the General Manager for the City of Toronto Solid Waste Management (read this as garbage collection), earned a salary of $171,030.27.
Of course not every street sweeper earns this much money a year, but it does help put things into perspective. Mind you, for comparative purposes, the Canadian members of Parliament earn roughly $144,000 a year which falls far short of what Mr. Bacopoulos earned last year!
Mr. Minister, the objection against Ugandans working in Iraq is not about the nature of the job per se. Rather, the issue as raised in the New Vision is about informed consent.
Have those Ugandans in Iraq been fully informed about every ramification of working in that country, the risks involved, and especially the legal requirement of employer under Defense Base Act to ensure that there is insurance coverage? Are they, at a time when available information indicates that some security firms have lied to their employees about the nature of the work and available protection, aware that they could become fodder for suicide bombers? Are they aware that they could find themselves at the frontline of the war without proper training and equipment to be in the war?
Mr. Minister, compared to the Ugandans currently in Iraq, those working as garbage collectors, street sweepers and whatnot are in fact, well protected, generally have job security, possibly pensions, and many benefits. Most important, the 2002 statistics from the IMF indicate that Ugandans abroad remitted upward of $483m to the homeland.
That figure is likely above the half billion dollar mark by now. Now, is that something to be ashamed of?
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca