Govt issues guidelines on layoffs 

COVID-19 | EMPLOYMENT

The Government has issued guidelines to employers on handling of layoffs of workers due to the coronavirus lockdown.

In the guidelines, the Government directed employers, both public and private, to consider laying off workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic only as the last resort.

Termination of employees, according to Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, should be taken as the last resort after all the available softer options have been exhausted.

The Government instead encourages employers and workers to fi nd what he termed as ‘win-win solutions through dialogue as far as is reasonably practicable' or negotiate wages before considering terminating the services of their workers.

He warned that any employer who, despite the associated costs and lengthy procedures, opts for termination of the services of employees, must strictly adhere to the law as stipulated in sections 58, 65 and 81 of the Employment Act, 2006 and other regulations.

Tumwebaze announced the guidelines yesterday while addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, where he spoke about the current relations between employers and employees and the effects of COVID-19 on employment.

He also addressed journalists about the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which was observed yesterday. 

At the same function, the minister declared that the celebrations for the World Labour Day, which had been slated for May 1 in Mbarara, have been put off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tumwebaze explained that he recently convened a meeting between the Government and workers, who were represented by the National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) and the Central Organisation of Free Trade Unions (COFTU), as well as employers, who were represented by the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE).

The meeting, he explained, discussed and agreed on a number of issues regarding the current issues affecting employment, including job security and the possible mitigation measures.

He, however, said some  employers had made decisions or were contemplating instituting employee-costreduction measures, including pay-cuts and termination of workers.

Unfortunately, the minister, without naming the companies, said the most affected were having diffi culty meeting their basic and essential needs including, food and healthcare.

These include casual workers in the formal and informal sectors, who are paid on a daily basis.

Tumwebaze said whereas employment relations ‘are regulated by law, mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on employment relationships is more than a legal matter, given the circumstances'.

 

He advised employers to encourage their staff to work from home to cut down on the  costs and take pending annual leave.

The minister warned that termination of employees might occasion more costs to employers in the form of payment of terminal benefi ts, compensation for leave days not taken and severance packages, among others.

"Employers should ensure that the process of termination or layoffs are done with a humane face," he cautioned. Tumwebaze added that affected workers should be counselled prior to the termination and that the employers should try as much as possible to take care of their basic needs, including providing food.

Tumwebaze, however, warned sectors that have not been affected adversely by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as manufacturing and food  processing, not to use the excuse of the pandemic ‘to arbitrarily cut staff wages or lay off staff'.

He said working with the National Task force on COVID-19, the ministry is devising means of prioritising workers who have been laid off or terminated to benefi t from the food being distributed.

Local Council leaders, he said, have been asked not to discriminate against casual workers by not regarding them as non-vulnerable.

Tumwebaze also said employers will be required to fi le returns of the employees already affected or expected to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tumwebaze said the ministry will be interested in knowing how many workers had been laid off or sent on leave and the reasons behind the actions. He said the ministry had appointed a team to handle matters related to termination of workers on a one-to-one basis.

Tumwebaze said the meeting also agreed to contact Parliament to expedite the process of considering the amendment of the NSSF Act as one of the instruments to address the social security needs of the contributors.

Addressing complaints

Tumwebaze said the ministry will take keen interest in, and will continue addressing, on a case-by-case basis,

complaints raised by part-time workers and others who, by the time of the COVID-19 lockdown, had no contracts and were sent home without payment of what was due to them.