Uganda is obliged to fix a minimum wage

May 13, 2013

As workers recently commemorated the International Labour Day, Uganda government refused to review her minimum wage. Otherwise sh6,000 as per statutory instrument No. 38/ 1984 is still the official minimum wage for Uganda.

By Hassan Lwabayi Mudiba

As workers recently commemorated the International Labour Day, Uganda government refused to review her minimum wage. Otherwise sh6,000 as per statutory instrument No. 38/ 1984 is still the official minimum wage for Uganda. This decision was made without consultation with the workers.

On the other hand, Kenya increased by 14% on their minimum wage making it rise up to the equivalent of Ush420,000!!  

The reason given by government that is focusing on lowering the cost of doing business and supporting industries to grow and also employ more people as per the New vision of May 2, 2013 head line Labour Day celebrations in Tororo.

Much as I appreciate the reasons contained in the story, I don’t believe that paying workers peanuts parse will help in reducing costs of doing business in Uganda without the Government addressing real issues such as high interest rate on loans and unfair collateral security, low public investment, which result into private firms fixing roads as well as extending electricity and water to their plants, poor organisation capability, irregular electricity supply for example, for 90 days farms did not get electricity in early 2012 and low participation in knowledge creation arises from (R & D). For example Uganda (R & D) expenditure as percentage of GDP is 0.41% compared to Brazil 1.17 %, China 1.70 %, Singapore 2.43 %, Germany 2.82 %, Sweden 3.40 % and USA 2.90 %.

The above analysis the Government should engage multiple approaches to lower costs of doing business instead of denying workers their right to a minimum wage which is even insignificant to the costs of doing business     

The Government’s refusal to fix a minimum wage is not only a contradiction because, as a member of the ILO, is supposed to strictly adhere to all conventions ratified by it such as the Convention No. 26 minimum wage fixing machinery 1928 ratified on June 4, 1963 and but also under mines the Presidents Manifesto which promises eradicating poverty as the purpose of fixing minimum wage is designed to over come poverty and to ensure the satisfaction of the needs of all workers and their families.

Uganda’s refusal to review the minimum wage for 24 years now in breach of Article 4 of the Minimum wage Convention No. 26, which provides that each member which ratified this convention shall create and/ or maintain machinery adopted to national conditions and requirements where by minimum wages for groups of wages earners covered in pursuance of Article 1 thereof can be fixed and adjusted from time to time.

Since Uganda ratified this convention and domesticated it in her municipal laws through the minimum wage Act and the minimum wage Statutory Instrument No. 38/ 1984, it is unfortunate that after the Government recognising workers’ rights in the Constitution again it is the same government departing from the same commitment!

Government is hereby appealed to reconsider her position in order to promote harmonious industrial relations.

Hassan Lwabayi Mudiba

General Secretary

Uganda Local Government Workers’ Union

E-mail: lwabayimudiba@yahoo.com
 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});