By Hon Charles Bakkabulindi is Workers Member of Prliament.
The industrial relations system in Uganda has some connotations with that of the British system who were our former colonial masters. The set up and operation are exactly like that of the British and any other common wealth countries like Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and others.
According to the system, the government dictates the relationship and establishes an industrial court presided over by the judge who has a status and it must be that of the high court. It must also be under Arbitration and settlement Act 2006 noted that it is the state that finances this court although the state is also an employer on the other hand.
The system encourages cordial relationships between employers and employees.
It allows collective bargaining between the worker through their trade unions and employers to determine their terms and conditions of work amicably with the employers. Civil servants have also been allowed to form trade unions but these unions are handicapped because the government is still dictating the terms of the civil servant.
The government is the custodian of all work relationships; it has a rule to enforce the labour laws, to inspect the industries and to settle and arbitrate disputes.
The trade unions have tried to engage the employers but with little success due to lack of government’s will on many touching issues like lack of a statutory minimum wage and unfavourable policies like liberalization policies, privatization favouring investors at the expense of workers and important of labor and many others that we see in Uganda today is an industrial relations system which is prone to:
- Poor productivity.
- Corruption amongst the government administrators.
- Threats and strikes from workers due to unfair terms and conditions of work.
- Lack of good will on the part of the workers due to pinching economy.
- Employers who have advantage of the weak and corrupt government agencies.
In order for us to have a strong and sound industrial relations system, the following things are suggested.
Government should put in place a statutory minimum wage.
Government must strengthen the ministry responsible for labour both in monetary and manpower capacity.
This will ensure that factories are regularly inspected and that there are enough labour officers in every district.
Trade unions double their efforts to assist the workers from unfavorable conditions.
The monster of corruption must be fought from all angles and the industrial court must be seen to do its work. It must be well facilitated in order to offload the outstanding cases.
It is only when these interactions are made that we can have a meaningful industrial relations system in Uganda.
The industrial relations system in Uganda has some connotations with that of the British system who were our former colonial masters. The set up and operation are exactly like that of the British and any other common wealth countries like Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and others.
According to the system, the government dictates the relationship and establishes an industrial court presided over by the judge who has a status and it must be that of the high court. It must also be under Arbitration and settlement Act 2006 noted that it is the state that finances this court although the state is also an employer on the other hand.
The system encourages cordial relationships between employers and employees.
It allows collective bargaining between the worker through their trade unions and employers to determine their terms and conditions of work amicably with the employers. Civil servants have also been allowed to form trade unions but these unions are handicapped because the government is still dictating the terms of the civil servant.
The government is the custodian of all work relationships; it has a rule to enforce the labour laws, to inspect the industries and to settle and arbitrate disputes.
The trade unions have tried to engage the employers but with little success due to lack of government’s will on many touching issues like lack of a statutory minimum wage and unfavourable policies like liberalization policies, privatization favouring investors at the expense of workers and important of labor and many others that we see in Uganda today is an industrial relations system which is prone to:
Poor productivity.
Corruption amongst the government administrators.
Threats and strikes from workers due to unfair terms and conditions of work.
Lack of good will on the part of the workers due to pinching economy.
Employers who have advantage of the weak and corrupt government agencies.
In order for us to have a strong and sound industrial relations system, the following things are suggested.
Government should put in place a statutory minimum wage.
Government must strengthen the ministry responsible for labour both in monetary and manpower capacity.
This will ensure that factories are regularly inspected and that there are enough labour officers in every district.
Trade unions double their efforts to assist the workers from unfavorable conditions.
The monster of corruption must be fought from all angles and the industrial court must be seen to do its work. It must be well facilitated in order to offload the outstanding cases.
It is only when these interactions are made that we can have a meaningful industrial relations system in Uganda.
About the Author
Hon Charles Bakkabulindi is Workers Member of Prliament.
