District labour officers want Parliament to amend the Employment Act 2006

LABOUR LAWS

A total of 87 District Labour Officers  (DLO) have implored Parliament to amend the Employment Act 2006, to address loopholes in the law.

According to the labour officers, the current law doesn't effectively address labour related issues in the country.

Elly Kiruta,  a Senior  labour officer  Buikwe district said :" The Employment Act that was promulgated on 24 May 2006   does not distinguish between summary dismissal and summary termination, it is confusing because summary termination of workers have  continued to be misinterpreted with summary dismissal thus affecting the arbitrations process by the Labour officers, between  the employee  and employer."

Kiruta said "We ask the minister of gender, to consult    Parliament to amend the Employment ACT 2006, to enable the House to come up with a clear distinction.  Since its inception in 2006, the law has become archaic."

The labour officers proposed the amendment of the Act  on Monday during a training of labour officers on labour laws , overview of the Employment Act, 2006 ,  legal interpretation on rights, responsibilities , remedies of workers and employers.

The training was financed by the Platform for Labour Action (PLA) a Civil Society Organisation   focused on promoting and protecting the rights of vulnerable and marginalised workers, persons with disability,   through empowerment of communities and individuals  at Arch Apartments and Hotel in Ntinda, a city suburb.

Kiruta proposed that a section of the Act should be amended to read as  : "Summary termination would refer one who losses employment with benefits, while summary dismissal would refer to those who are set off the jobs in disgrace without any benefits as a result of theft cases at place of work."

Citing section 65 of the Employment  Act 2006, Kiruta  elaborates how summary termination would take effect when a contract has ended with notice and  contract time to  ends but  the employers get in disagreement with the worker over other issues and when they terminate the worker, the controversy comes as if the employers have dismissed the worker like it in the case in section 69 of the same Act."

Kiruta cited section 69 of the Act that "Summary dismissal shall take place when an employer terminates the services of an employee without notice or with  notice  than that to which the employee is entitled by any statutory provision or contractual term, for example  when a worker has a two year contract and has been stopped during the course of his employment will be related wrongly as dismissed."

The training was financed by the Platform for Labour Action (PLA)  a  Civil Society Organisation   focused on promoting and protecting the rights of vulnerable and marginalised workers, persons with disability,   through the empowerment of communities.

PLA manager Rights Social protection and Accountability  ,  Lydia Bwiite said: " Out of the current 127 districts, only 75 districts  have substantive labour officers while 12 labour officers are in acting positions.

"Lack of District Labour Officers countrywide, affects access to justice to all, I call upon government to fill in the vacant vacancies for labour officers at the district levels to serve the workers.," Bwiite said.