By Our Reporter
The National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) What went wrong Masaka Committee report is a culmination of endless administrative wrangles that at one time threatened to tear apart the Labour federation. Report of Inquiry on Governance and Leadership of NOTU by the What Went Wrong Committee (WWWC) successfully completed its work as assigned by the leaders that converged in Masaka from 18 – 20™ May, 2022. During the workshop speaker after speaker passionately spoke on the subject of leadership and governance in relation to the situation obtaining and save for the Chairpersons of the sessions, the resource persons and the programme, it was very difficult to differentiate the participants’ presentations from those that would be made at a normal meeting of a General Council.
The participants demonstrated that problems were bound to come indeed as is normally the case with all other National Centers elsewhere in the world, but that the response of the leaders to those problems in seeking or finding solutions is what created a difference. Participants summed up their presentations bymaking an observation that the leadership at NOTU was the major problem not in the individuals that held the different offices but, in their failures, to plan and to act in time to given challenges. Presentations made at Masaka indicated Employers’ hatred for Trade Unions as a problem; general concern of the leaders to the effect that their Trade Unions had suffered serious setbacks in terms of effective organizing and representation of workers as provided by law. They also noted inability to function properly had been brought about by several factors that included certain employers’ denial of Trade Unions access to workers. As if that is not bad enough employers’ intimidation and harassment plus victimization of workers on account of their links with Trade Unions. Leaders said Employers’ refusal to recognize Trade Unions, employers’ interferences in the management of Trade Unions, employers failure or refusal to comply with the law and with the very agreements entered into between them and the Trade Unions.
These are among other wide range of activities undertaken by the employers to disrupt or prevent Trade Union presence and operations at work places. But they also noted Government’s reluctance and failure to crackdown on employers who had failed to observe and respect trade unions at workplaces. Central government is also faulted for failure to enhance salaries of workers in public service despite signing a 2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Public Service Trade Unions. As if that is not bad enough government had also failed to offer adequate facilitation to the Industrial Court and other agencies to enable them dispense justice for the workers in circumstances where employers act in breach of the law. Uganda government did not consider workers as a priority and complaints by workers were instead being interpreted as a disturbance to the investors who in turn behaved with impunity. The failure to enact and put in place a Minimum wage has complicated matters for workers in the country. The other issues in NOTU include formulating policy relating to the proper management of Labour Unions and the general welfare of employees; co-ordinate and supervise the activities of the federation in order to ensure that undertakings entered into by individual Unions or by a Federation of Labour Unions on behalf of its affiliated Labour Unions are duly honoured;
They observed lack of plans to plan for and administer, in collaboration with other interested bodies or persons, workers’ education programms;, to mainstream gender concerns in management and activities of Labour Unions/Leaders in charge of the federation failed to monitor the implementation of gender responsive provisions on the promotion of equal treatment, remuneration, training and capacity building in Labour Unions; Officials had failed to serve as a link between registered Labour Unions, the government and international organisations in all matters of mutual interest; to serve generally as a consultant on all matters relating to Labour union affairs . They noted failure by leaders to affiliate with national and international federations of Labour with proven commitment by its leaders to members’ expectations. Members still echoed their longstanding grievance of NOTU’s failure or deliberate refusal to supply them with a certified copy of the Constitution, thereby, generating confusion in governance of the Centre given the multiplicity of different versions of the NOTU constitution in circulation.
NOTU leaders have no respect for its Constitution and major tenets of trade unionism such as solidarity, voluntarism, unity, perpetual continuity, democracy (credible elections, accountability, transparency) etc. are eroded, which conduct informs the affiliates’ lack of trust or confidence in the leadership. Conduct of Workers’ MPs as a problem; Participants further pointed out that the politics of election for Workers’ Members of Parliament and their conduct of business, thereafter, had presented major challenges to NOTU and the negative effects they presented appeared to have outweighed the perceived benefits. This was believed to be the case to the extent that some MPs worked to literally influence every decision at NOTU and amongst affiliates primarily for political purposes as opposed to real delivery of services to workers. The committee noted that there were cases where Trade Union leaders forewent NOTU activities to attend a brigade meeting or any other meeting organized by an MP for purposes of disseminating such MP’s popularity propaganda.
Trade Union leaders accorded priorityto activities organized by MPs as opposed to those organized by NOTU.Even when the said leaders attended NOTU activities, rare as they were, the spill overs manifested in form of rants like “warm, warm, warm… etc “Omu Bwati”, “Obama”, Mandela, the “Bridge”, “Musomesa”, the “Anchorman”, etc. took center stage so much to the extent that the real purpose of a NOTU activity got dissolved. To crown it all the rants prevailed at a time of serious engagements only attracted “special announcements” of cocktails, complimentary transport, special wine etc. being offered by the beneficiaries in return but they did not help NOTU to be productive given the serious damage they inflicted on its reputation. This had also slowly and gradually contributed in considerable measure to the weakening of the Centre because the leadership of NOTU operating under such politically charged circumstances could not intellectually function independently in any decision making.
A leader at the Centre who attempted to exercise independence by holding an opinion that was different from that of the MP(s) risked suffering the wrath of such MP(s) through their ruthlessly charged brigades and hired mercenaries mainly, sycophants hence compliance to the dictates of their power to avoid likely actions that could lead to their removal. Similar situations applied to several leaders from the affiliated Trade Unions the leadership of NOTU accepted to be held hostage just for their survival. The MPs who are supposed to account to NOTU had now become so powerful that they were the ones to determine who should lead NOTU, who should be appointed on boards, KCCA , including determining who should be on a simple adhoc committee.
Chairman Masaka NOTU revival committee Mr. Robert Matuku Wanzusi
Mr. Wanzusi Robert Matukhu National Union of Infrastructural, Civil Works and Wood Workers (NUICWWW) General Secretary and Chairperson of the Committee, Ms. Alum Susan Uganda Private Teachers’ Union (UPTU) National Chairperson and Secretary of the Committee, Kanyana Ezra National Union of Theatrical, Domestic and General Workers’ (NUTDOW) General Secretary and Member of the Committee, Ms Kakonge Rose Uganda Bottling, Bakers, Millers and Allied Workers’ Union (UBBMAWU), National Chairperson and committee member, Mr. Kamusaala Babi David National Union of Cooperative Movement and Allied Workers (NUCMAW) National Chairperson and Committee member, Mr. Bigirimana Emmanuel Uganda Civil Society Organisations Workers’ Union (UCSOWU) General Secretary Committee member, Ms. Nassali Jenepher Uganda Horticultural, Industrial,Service Providers and Allied Workers’ Union (UHISPAWU) General Secretary and Committee member, Mr Walakira Charles Uganda Communication Employees’ Union (UCEU) National Chairperson and Committee Chairman and Mr Masaba Sam Uganda Public Employees’ Union (UPEU) General Secretary and committee member■
