The ratification of the East African Common Market Protocol which comes into force July 1 2010, is creating more obligations for Uganda - at least when it comes to workers rights.

Whereas Ugandan authorities had for long opposed the introduction of a minimum wage, Ugandan negotiators have now agreed to harmonise our labour laws to match with those of other member countries.

Now according to Ojja-Andira A., the Acting Commissioner Industrial Relations and Productivity in the Labour ministry, it means that among other things, Uganda is obliged to review its outdated minimum wage policy.

The move arose out of a decision that was taken by the East African Council of Ministers to the effect that they would harmonise the labour laws of the region, a key component of which is a minimum wage for all unskilled workers.

Although Uganda last set a minimum wage in 1984 at Ushs 6,000 per month, this decree has remained useless because of inflation that has eroded the purchasing power of that amount. The subsequent Ushs 75,000 per month that was recommended by the Minimum Wages Advisory Council in 1995 for unskilled workers has never been implemented.

A number of workers' rights activists have called for a review the policy on minimum wage but government has remained adamant to those calls. The major reasons advanced by bureaucrats are that setting a minimum wage would cause massive unemployment and scare away investors.
 
Job opportunities
The coming into force of the common market has been hailed as a major opening for skilled as well as non-skilled workers in Uganda and other member countries to find jobs elsewhere other than their home countries.

"The Common market will improve the current absorptive capacity of labour markets for all member states," Said Ojja-Andira.

A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage an employer is required to pay a worker. Advocates of a minimum wage argue that a minimum wage ensures that an employee is assured of a descent pay that guarantees someone a good quality of life.  
The common market protocol that was signed by the five Heads of State of the East African Community on November 20, 2009, guarantees in its seventh article, free movement of persons and labour for citizens of the other partner states. This means that an East African citizen can now get a job anywhere without having to secure a work permit.

Under the protocol, partner states shall effect reciprocal opening of boarder posts and keep the posts opened and manned for twenty four hours, among other provisions.

But Ojja-Andira said the main stumbling block for the implementation of the minimum wage, was the lack of consensus among the stakeholders. He noted that there are outstanding differences of opinion particularly among workers representatives (Trade Unions), Employers, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Law Society on what constitutes a minimum wage and what it is supposed to do.

"Employers anticipate that a fixed minimum wage will reduce their profits as they have been exploitatively using labour" Said Ojja-Andira at a round table discussion organised by Platform for Labour Action (PLA).

However, Lillian Keene Mugerwa (Pictured), the Executive Director PLA called for the establishment of a working group that can follow up Government initiatives and ensure that a minimum wage is incorporated into the National Development Plan.

For now, according to Ojja-Andira, the government has agreed to appoint a new Minimum Wage Advisory Board which will undertake a general study to determine the minimum wage by consulting all stakeholders.

But even before the consultations begin, it appears there is going to be a lot of pulling and pushing which will make reaching consensus difficult.

Trade unionists have already urged government to ignore pressure from employers who are resisting the setting of a minimum wage arguing that the current status quo only favours employers who want to exploit workers.

Irene Kaboole, the General Secretary of Uganda Government and Allied Workers Union noted however that discussion about a minimum wage should be part of a wider employment policy that would be broader in scope by encompassing other non-wage related aspects of workers. blog comments powered by Disqus

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