CSOs petition government over workers' rights

Jul 02, 2020

To protect workers’ rights, CSOs want the government to finalize the enactment of the Minimum Wage Bill 2015 to ensure that Ugandan labor is protected from exploitation through the payment of very low wages.

Civil Society Organisations have called upon the government to prioritize citizens' rights during the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing journalists during a press conference in Kampala, Jane Nalunga, the Executive Director Southern and Eastern Africa Trade, Information, and Negotiation Institute (SEATINI), disclosed that they have filed a public interest case against the government for failing to protect human rights and livelihoods of people who work in commercial investment schemes.

 "We feel that the government has not done enough to protect people who work in factories, flower farms, plantation-based investment. Because of the COVID19 crisis, a number of investment schemes have continued to violate the rights of some of the most marginalized individuals in society especially women who work in the plantations and factories," explained Nalunga.

 

Jane Nalunga, ED SEATINI ( Photo by Juliet Kasirye)

 

According to research findings published by SEATINI in 2019, workers, especially women, are adversely affected by the lack of appropriate personal protective gear which exposes them to chemicals that burn and irritate their skin.

David Kabanda, Executive Director for Food and Adequate Living Rights, (CEFROHT) said, "Since many people in Uganda are very poor and it is easy for anyone to manipulate anyone who is vulnerable, it is our responsibility to make sure that the rights of people are protected, respected and upheld, as human rights organisations.

Faith Lumonya, a programs coordinator at SEATINI requested the government to direct all investments to take up the full responsibility of providing workers, both casual and permanent workers with proper and adequate personal protective equipment on a sector by sector against exposure to various injuries, and chemicals during their work and against COVID-19.

 

David Kabanda, ED CEFROHT interacts with Jane Nalunga (L), the ED SEATINI (Photo by Juliet Kasirye)

 

To protect workers' rights, CSOs want the government to finalize the enactment of the Minimum Wage Bill 2015 to ensure that Ugandan labor is protected from exploitation through the payment of very low wages.

"We want the government to enact a legal framework specifically designed to address large scale land-based investments given the particular challenges faced by communities and individuals directly affected by such investments, and the differences in the dynamics involved in their establishment," Lumonya said.

In order to secure policy space to undertake these actions, Nalunga called upon the government to withdraw its consent from the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provision in Trade and Investment Agreements, and investment contracts that allow foreign investors to challenge government action to regulate their actions.

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