Workers - Uganda Multimedia News & Information

Ban on recruiting Ugandans for jobs in the middle east being violated-MPs

Gerald Businge — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 20:13:49 +0000

The Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee has expressed disappointment over what they say are the continued advertisements by bureaus/agencies asking Ugandans to respond so that they can secure for them jobs abroad despite a ban by government on the matter.

Government had earlier this year imposed a temporary ban on Ugandans leaving the Country to seek employment abroad especially Saudi Arabia sighting reports of harassment by employers in those Countries.

The MPs however, say before investigations on the allegations can be concluded, these firms have continued to break the law with the advertisements and recruitment of Ugandans in total disregard of the law.

Rose Mutonyi Masaba the Committee Chairperson on Foreign Affairs.

Rose Mutonyi Masaba, the Committee Chairperson said was to their surprise that the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) has failed to react to these adverts of which they say are misleading Ugandans hunting for jobs.

It is against this background that the committee resolved to summon officials from Ministry of Gender to appear before them next week and explain a number of issues surrounding this matter, adding that many desperate Ugandans are hunting for risky jobs abroad and need help.

Mutonyi said the Committee also plans to summon the agencies that claim to be having licenses to explain how they follow-up Ugandans they send abroad for work because several rumors have come up about on the mistreatment of these workers and the companies that take them never come out to explain.

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Women, Youth and workers’ representation nolonger needed in parliament – Ben Wacha

Isaac Senabulya — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 16:29:02 +0000

Youth in the country

The senior lawyer in the country who is also the former member of parliament for Oyam North in Apac district Ben Wacha says its time for the three special interest groups to be thrown out of parliament. Wacha made the remarks while at the induction seminar of members of parliament on the role of parliament in national governance with reference to representation, oversight, legislative and constituency role of a member of parliament held at Imperial Royale in Kampala.

He says that parliament should make a decision when time comes for the review of their stay in parliament and chase away some special representation like for women, Youth and workers since the constitution did not make them permanent. He noted that there is no need for women representation since now women can stand in constituencies and win over men and added that even many youth have replaced many old members of parliament calling for elderly representation since many youth are in parliament currently unlike in the past parliaments.

He says that the army and persons with the disability should be the only groups with special representation in parliament because of their underlying factors and continues that parliament should consider making the speaker independent by making a law that for him or her from his or her constituency seat when elected as the speaker of parliament to ensure impartiality in the speaker’s chair.

Wacha further calls on MPs to redirect elections in the country so as there is minimal election malpractice so as the voters donot boycott election which could bring chaos and as result create a political vacuum that may bring a gain a political crisis. He says that the electoral malpractices will be lessened if parliament takes its time and reviews the electoral laws, and suggests that members should weigh upon their party leaders that not every matter which comes before parliament should be looked at with party lenses. He asks parliament to engage the public so as they know the role of a member of parliament instead of MPs being assessed by how they empty their pockets for the constituents.

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Trade unions petition High Court over Workers MPs elect

Isaac Senabulya — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 08:35:33 +0000

A section of leaders of trade unions have petitioned the High Court seeking for a nullification of the elections for the 5 representatives of the workers members of parliament in the 10th parliament. The petition before the court was signed by more than 10,000 workers challenging the workers MPs elect for the 10th parliament.
Addressing a news conference in Kampala the petitioners who include Paul Wepukhulu Mutambo from Uganda amalgamated transport and allied workers union, Kagoye Robinah General secretary Uganda parastatal, statutory authority and judiciary workers union, Joyce Lucy Atim general secretary Uganda nurses and midwives association, Mathias Ssuuna Mulumba, among others say that the elections should be nullified because the manner in which they were held was below the required standard.

In their petition filed by their lawyers Alaka and company advocates, Tumwesigye, Musoke, Opio and company advocates and Baluti Soozi and company advocates, they also want court to interpret whether the former lawmaker in the East Africa parliament Lydia Wanyoto and Charles Bakabulindi the state minister for education were fit to be nominated to contest in the elections.

The group dragged three parties to court which include the electoral commission, Attorney General and the 5 workers MPs elect over the irregularities that marred workers MPs. They accused the electoral commission of failing to clearly publish the dates for workers election compared to the youth elections.

One of the petitioners Kagoye Robinah says the registrar of trade unions failed to maintain the updated register while conducting elections which caused some members to be closed out of elections. She says that although they have already received threats from state machinery to drop the case and some of their members bribed they are ready to fight on.
The workers members of parliament elect in contest include Charles Bakabulindi, Arinaitwe Rwakajara, Agnes Rwabashaija, Margeret Kununihira and Dr. Sam Lyomoki. The contested election was held on 11th of March at Namboole stadium.

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Quit instead of giving low standard work – Public servants told

Isaac Senabulya — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 09:45:14 +0000

The presidential Advisor on finance Dr. Ezra Suruma called on the public servants who claim to be underpaid and experiencing pay delays to quit the government service instead of remaining in offices where their performance is not upto the expected standard due to claims of low pay.

Dr. Suruma made the remarks while meeting the secretaries under the National Association of Secretaries and Administrative Professionals (NASAP) in Kampala. He says that many government workers’ quality of service delivery is worrying because they always dodge their duties. He explains that some teachers dodge school classes on the basis of underpayment by government but to his surprise they cling to the work where they should have resigned.

He urges secretaries in all offices to be determined to build a better nation by exhibiting a spirit of quality service delivery than being known for corruption. He continued to observe the need for a law that regulates the operations of SACCOs so as there are strict guidelines that are used by the groups involved in SACCOs so that they do not lose their money to greedy persons in the SACCOs. He said that if a law guiding cooperative society and credit organizations is not put in place people will lose their wealth to individuals as it happened to cooperatives in the past where they collapsed and the members were not compensated.

The president of the National Association of Secretaries and Administrative Professionals (NASAP), Norah Kiwumulo asked the secretaries to have early dreams of how they live after retirement and asked president Yoweri Museveni to support their SACCO to have revolving fund for secretaries to borrow and invest in their enterprising business to improve on their earning since some of them are steal underpaid.

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Parliament questions method of voting in Workers’ MPs

Isaac Senabulya — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 15:47:08 +0000

Parliament sitting

Workers’ members of parliament and government have failed to find a method of how workers’ MPS will be voted for 2016 parliamentary elections. The legal committee chaired by the Member of Parliament for Kajara county, Stephen Tashobya, noted that following the Constitutional Court nullification of the law under which workers’ MPs were elected in the expiring term of the current parliament, government and the workers’ MPs are still stuck on finding a new method of voting workers.

The committee was surprised to see the workers’ MPs who included the Minister for sports Charles Bakabulindi and Rwakajara Arinaitwe together with the Attorney Fred Ruhindi insisting for the voting of the workers’ MPs using the nullified law yet the committee has been instructing them to bring a new voting formula for the committee to scrutinize.

MPs who included Abdul Katuntu, Baka Mugabi, Alex Ndezi, Fox Odoi, Kabakumba Masiko, Wilfred Niwagaba and Paul Mwiru said that they will not keep a blind eye on this matter, demanding for a method which is agreeable to both the unionized and non-unionized workers in the country.

MPS say that if the government and workers representatives are still sticking to the old method they should go back to court and appeal against the ruling over the matter or cause a Constitional amendment. The member of parliament for Bukoli county Stephen Baka Mugabi proposed that there should be creation of another line of non-unionized workers voting through workers’ councils from lower level and later vote among themselves the leaders who elect workers’ MPS so as they also participate in the elections to make the process open to all workers and to satisfy the law .

However the Minister of state for workers who is also the workers’ member of parliament Charles Bakabulindi said that leaving the old method of voting workers’ MPs is tiresome since it will require registering workers afresh.

The Attorney General Fred Ruhindi said that he will not appeal over this mater in court and admitting that he is now in a difficult position but a solution must be found. The committee is to request the speaker of parliament to give it more time to make a report before parliament on the parliamentary election amendment bill 2015 so as the MPs have enough time again with government and workers’ MPs to work out the method of electing workers’ representatives.

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Parliamentary canteen workers strike over no pay

Isaac Senabulya — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 15:29:16 +0000

Over 25 workers attached to parliamentary canteen have laid down their tools protesting nonpayment of their salaries ranging from 7-8 months. The workers accuse their manager of Ninats investment Limited ,Veronica Katusiime, who wooed them from other restaurants and hotel around Kampala with a promise that they would be given a better pay but to-date none of them have been paid the money.

One of the workers who preferred anonymity says that most of them have been chased away from their houses for lack of rent, and others prefer to sleep at parliament for fear of their Landlords.

Workers’ MP Arinaitwe Rwakajara says he is preparing a petition to Parliament over the matter because this non payment taints the image of Parliament and he pledges to push the matter to industrial court so that justice is done.

The workers are allegedly demanding 50 million shillings from the owner of Ninats investment Limited.

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List of Labour Unions in Uganda

John Isma — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:51 +0000

In order to push for the rights of workers and protect them against abuses by the employers, workers worldwide form unions to help in accomplishing this mission.

In Uganda, the following are the registered unions with the National Organization of Trade Union

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