Retirement age could come down to 50
May 19, 2010
THE Government is considering lowering retirement age to 50 from 60, according to the public service minister, Henry Kajura.
By Barbara Among
THE Government is considering lowering retirement age to 50 from 60, according to the public service minister, Henry Kajura.
If the plan became law, over 30,000 civil servants, some of them very senior, would be affected immediately.
They include medical workers, teachers, judicial officers, the Police, commissioners, assistant commissioners and head teachers. “It is at that level that they reach that age group,†said a source at the public service ministry.
The retirement age was 55 in the colonial administration, but was raised to 60 after independence in 1962. Now the President wants it lowered again.
According to sources, President Yoweri Museveni directed Kajura to do so in a letter last week, but the minister yesterday said the matter was still being discussed.
“There is no conclusion yet,†said Kajura. “I don’t think it should be a matter of panic. It can be modified, reconsidered or rejected.â€
In the meantime, the Cabinet has written a paper on the matter for debate, after which it will advise the President accordingly.
Museveni’s spokesman Tamale Mirundi said it was the second time he was writing on the subject. “It shows he is serious about it,†Tamale added.
Last year, the youth urged the President to cut the retirement age, saying 15,000 jobs would be created for them annually, allowing the retirees to go into private business. About a half of Ugandans are below 18 years.
In the letter to Kajura, Museveni also said the Government wanted a civil service which is aware of the political agenda. This would help get government programmes “implemented faster and more efficiently,†he said.
He also criticised the educated people for being corrupt and failing to appreciate the political agenda.
The President also said the Government was preparing for the products of the Universal Secondary Education, whose entry into the labour market should not be delayed.
He called for the implementation of his order to provide funds to university graduates to start income-generating projects.
In a reaction, public service officials said the strategy could make the medical service and the Judiciary lose their staff and the Government would have to hire them on contract, at a higher price.
The pension bill would also rise, they said. Currently, the Government pays sh180b annually as pension, while the arrears stand at sh100b.
“About sh600b will be required to pay gratuity and annual pension will increase by another sh100b,†a source said.
The plan has raised mixed reactions from workers MPs. Workers’ MP and sports state minister, Charles Bakkabulindi welcomed the proposal saying it would provide jobs to the youth.
“One needs to retire when one is still able to engage in private business.â€
His colleagues, however, described the argument as counter-productive.
“I don’t know why we are creating more unemployment, because the people retiring are still capable having worked for only 15 or 20 years,†said Workers MP Bruno Pajobo.
The MPs instead want the retirement age to be 55. At 50 years, they said, life is just starting, and many people do not have enough savings to live on.
They called for more industries, which would create more obs and urged the Government to first fill vacancies in its departments.
“They should put more effort in creating jobs instead of creating more districts. We should have more regional factories,†Pajobo said.
The General Secretary of the Uganda Government and Allied Workers Union, Mary Kabole, called the proposal “an abuse of workers rights†and called for more discussion.
THE Government is considering lowering retirement age to 50 from 60, according to the public service minister, Henry Kajura.
If the plan became law, over 30,000 civil servants, some of them very senior, would be affected immediately.
They include medical workers, teachers, judicial officers, the Police, commissioners, assistant commissioners and head teachers. “It is at that level that they reach that age group,†said a source at the public service ministry.
The retirement age was 55 in the colonial administration, but was raised to 60 after independence in 1962. Now the President wants it lowered again.
According to sources, President Yoweri Museveni directed Kajura to do so in a letter last week, but the minister yesterday said the matter was still being discussed.
“There is no conclusion yet,†said Kajura. “I don’t think it should be a matter of panic. It can be modified, reconsidered or rejected.â€
In the meantime, the Cabinet has written a paper on the matter for debate, after which it will advise the President accordingly.
Museveni’s spokesman Tamale Mirundi said it was the second time he was writing on the subject. “It shows he is serious about it,†Tamale added.
Last year, the youth urged the President to cut the retirement age, saying 15,000 jobs would be created for them annually, allowing the retirees to go into private business. About a half of Ugandans are below 18 years.
In the letter to Kajura, Museveni also said the Government wanted a civil service which is aware of the political agenda. This would help get government programmes “implemented faster and more efficiently,†he said.
He also criticised the educated people for being corrupt and failing to appreciate the political agenda.
The President also said the Government was preparing for the products of the Universal Secondary Education, whose entry into the labour market should not be delayed.
He called for the implementation of his order to provide funds to university graduates to start income-generating projects.
In a reaction, public service officials said the strategy could make the medical service and the Judiciary lose their staff and the Government would have to hire them on contract, at a higher price.
The pension bill would also rise, they said. Currently, the Government pays sh180b annually as pension, while the arrears stand at sh100b.
“About sh600b will be required to pay gratuity and annual pension will increase by another sh100b,†a source said.
The plan has raised mixed reactions from workers MPs. Workers’ MP and sports state minister, Charles Bakkabulindi welcomed the proposal saying it would provide jobs to the youth.
“One needs to retire when one is still able to engage in private business.â€
His colleagues, however, described the argument as counter-productive.
“I don’t know why we are creating more unemployment, because the people retiring are still capable having worked for only 15 or 20 years,†said Workers MP Bruno Pajobo.
The MPs instead want the retirement age to be 55. At 50 years, they said, life is just starting, and many people do not have enough savings to live on.
They called for more industries, which would create more obs and urged the Government to first fill vacancies in its departments.
“They should put more effort in creating jobs instead of creating more districts. We should have more regional factories,†Pajobo said.
The General Secretary of the Uganda Government and Allied Workers Union, Mary Kabole, called the proposal “an abuse of workers rights†and called for more discussion.