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Uganda - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Kampala

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; Uganda is generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, and June to August) and is semiarid in the northeast.

 

LANGUAGES

English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, and Arabic.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

in 1995, the Ugandan government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law. Uganda accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.

 

CURRENCY

Ugandan Shilling (1 USD = 1,738.00 UGX as of June 1, 2002).

 

UGANDA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

UGANDA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Kampala

Parliament Avenue

P.O. Box 7007

Kampala, Uganda

Telephone: [256] (41) 259792

Fax: [256] (41) 259794

http://usembassy.state.gov/kampala

 

Embassy of the Republic of Uganda at Washington D.C.

5911 16th Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20011

Telephone: (202) 726-7100

Fax: (202) 726-1727

Email: ugembassy@aol.com

http://www.ugandaembassy.com

 

UGANDA - HOLIDAYS

 

UGANDA – LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 8 weeks – 100% of pay for 1 month (paid by employer).

 

UGANDA - MINIMUM AGE

The law prohibits employers from hiring workers below the age of 18.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Uganda – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

UGANDA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The minimum legal wage is 6,000 shillings per month (approximately $3.50), a rate set in the early 1960's. The Ministry of Labor's salary scale for civil servants starts with unskilled labor at 75,000 shillings per month ($44), up to supervisors at 600,000 shillings per month ($350), plus modest increases for years worked.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Uganda – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

UGANDA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

UGANDA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides for the right of every person to join workers' associations or trade unions, and the Government respects this right in practice; however, it has not responded to a 1997 application for registration by the Uganda Allied Teachers' Union. Employers often do not observe the requirement to recognize a union. The right to form unions extends to civil servants. However, many "essential" government employees are not permitted to form unions; these include police, army, and permanent secretaries in the ministries, heads of departments and state-owned enterprises, school principals, and other management-level officials. The Government has failed to enforce the rights of some employees to join unions in newly privatized industries and factories. The number of reserved parliamentary seats for organized labor increased to five during the June elections (see Section 3).

 

The law allows unionization if 51 percent or more of the work force supports it and if the proposed union represents at least 1,000 employees. These requirements effectively prevent the right of workers in the private sector to form unions. The International Labor Organization (ILO) notes that this dual requirement may deprive workers in smaller bargaining units, or who are dispersed over wide geographical areas, of the ability to form unions or exercise collective bargaining rights, in particular where no trade union represents an absolute majority of the workers concerned (see Section 6.b.). Both the ILO's Committee of Experts (COE) and Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) have requested that this dual requirement be amended, and at year's end, there was a draft bill pending before Parliament that would reduce to 20 the number of workers required to form a union.

 

The National Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU), the largest labor federation, includes 19 unions with a membership of 80,000, or approximately 5 percent of the workforce. The NOTU is independent of the Government and political parties. Among its members are medical workers, including doctors, and the civil service union. During the year, two new members joined NOTU: The Uganda Fisheries and Allied Workers and Uganda Media Unions. The NOTU's influence on the overall economy remains small, since approximately 90 percent of the work force are peasant farmers. Even in areas in which cash crops are significant, unionization has remained practically nonexistent.

 

The Constitution confirms the right to strike; however, the Government seldom acts in defense of the worker's right to strike, and government policy requires that labor and management make "every effort" to reconcile labor disputes before resorting to strike action. This directive presents unions with a complicated set of restrictions. If reconciliation does not appear to be possible, labor must submit its grievances and notice to strike to the Minister of Labor, who usually delegates the dispute to the Industrial Court (IC). In principle IC rulings are final; however, its decisions have been appealed by employers who claimed that they doubted the impartiality of the Court. In previous years, in the absence of verdicts from the IC, the Minister of Labor generally did not permit strikes, on the basis that "every effort" had not been exhausted. Frustrated laborers often went on strike anyway, protesting credibly that they were not paid a wage that provides a decent standard of living.

 

In 2000 the IC President was criticized for the Court's impartiality and subsequently was "promoted" from her post allegedly because of this impartiality; in May the President appointed Constantine Rwaheru as the IC president. In 2000 police arrested and detained for 2 hours Sam Lyomoki, General Secretary of the Uganda Medical Union, after he protested in front of State House (the President's residence) the absence of a successor as well as the Government's failure to comply with the decision of the Advisory Committee on Wages to raise wages and salaries; he never was charged.

 

On February 6, more than 400 workers, including top managers, of the Kampala-based Crown Beverages Ltd. went on strike for the second time in a month demanding the resignation of the Chief Executive, whom they said was responsible for poor working relations. The workers reportedly resumed work after pleas from the Board Chairman. On April 10, workers of the Radio Uganda Current Affairs Department in Kampala went on strike, protesting the nonpayment of salaries since October 2000. On April 11, the strikers resumed work after management paid them 2 months of more than a year's back salary. On August 30, workers of Windsor Lake Victoria Hotel went on strike for 2 weeks following the firing of Moses Mauku, a strong unionist, in what the workers' viewed as a move to undermine the union movement. Following the strike, the hotel management reportedly fired 76 of the workers; although the NOTU and the hotel's management later offered the 76 workers the opportunity to return to work, the workers rejected the offer. As a result, they were considered to have left voluntarily.

 

On September 14, the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Affairs banned all meetings and elections within the labor movement until further notice. The Ministry also reportedly nullified all elections and resolutions of any trade union meetings held since April. The ban came a month after two unions suspended their general secretaries and two others had called delegates' conferences. According to the Government, the unions had been engaged in undemocratic activities and political agitation outside what is allowed in the 1975 Trade Union Decree, and therefore were banned until further notice. The ban still was in effect at year's end.

 

Labor unions freely exercised the right to affiliate with and participate in regional and international labor organizations. The NOTU is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, specifying that a workplace may be unionized if a majority of the employees supports doing so (see Section 6.a.); however, true collective bargaining takes place only in the small private sector of the modern economy. There were examples of collective bargaining in the private sector during the year; for example, Kakira Sugar Works officials and the union agreed to increase workers' salaries. In the modern sector, the Government by far is the largest employer (civil service and state-owned enterprises), and it dominates the bargaining process. The Government has adopted a tripartite (government-employers-labor) cooperative approach to setting wages and resolving labor disputes. Both the Government and employers may refer disputes to the IC.

 

In 1999 the Uganda Textile, Garments, Leather, and Allied Union filed a complaint against the Government with the ILO for failure to support the attempts of workers in the textile sector to exercise their right to freedom of association; the case was closed in June 1999.

 

The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers, and union activists are not protected sufficiently from retribution by employers for union activities; however, there were no reported incidents of government harassment of union officials. Unionization continued to be blocked effectively by some industries, especially in the textile, hotel, and construction sectors. Labor organizers complained that laws requiring a minimum of 1,000 persons in order to form a union hindered their activities. The Government only took limited action on organized labor complaints, but pointed out that the refusal to allow unionization is a constitutional violation.

 

There were no developments in the February 2000 case of 21 workers who were dismissed in connection with a strike at the Nytil Picfare textile factory.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including forced and bonded labor by children; however, a lack of resources prevented the Government from enforcing this prohibition effectively. There was strong evidence that prison officials hired out prisoners to work on private farms and construction sites, where often they were overworked. Throughout the country, prison officials routinely augmented their meager pay with crops grown by prisoners on the prison grounds. Male prisoners performed arduous physical labor while female prisoners produced marketable handicrafts such as woven basketry. Juvenile prisoners perform manual labor, often 12 hours per day (see Section 1.c.). Compensation, when paid, generally was very low, although the law demands that pretrial detainees must receive back pay for all work that they have performed once they are released (see Section 1.c.).

 

The UPDF at times detained LRA child soldiers at Gulu military barracks for a few weeks or several months. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that the UPDF used children to help find LRA landmines and arms caches.

 

Both the ADF and the LRA abducted civilians for training as guerrillas; most victims were children and young adults, whom the ADF and LRA terrorized into virtual slavery as guards, laborers, soldiers, and, in the case of the LRA, as sex slaves (see Sections 1.b. and 6.f.).

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The law prohibits employers from hiring workers below the age of 18; however, child labor is common, especially in the informal sector. The Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development is charged with enforcing the law on child labor, but it has limited financial means to do so. Part of the problem is demographic, because half of the population is under 15 years of age. Many children leave school and go into agricultural or domestic work in order to help meet expenses or perform the work of absent or infirm parents, a situation common throughout the country (see Section 5). The problem is acute particularly among the large orphan population.

 

Most working children are employed in the informal sector, often on the subsistence farms of extended family members or as domestic servants. In urban areas, children peddle small items on the streets, are involved in the commercial sex industry (particularly in border towns and in Kampala), or beg for money. Although adults do most tea harvesting, some children were employed in this sector as well. Some of the country's orphans engage in labor activities.

 

It is estimated that 60 percent of all land-based trade in the country is informal. Smuggling is one of the larger informal industries, and employs large numbers of child laborers at the borders with Kenya and Tanzania. Children walk back and forth across the unguarded borders, transporting small amounts of fuel, sugar, coffee, or other commodities.

 

Government efforts to decrease the incidence of child labor were boosted by a $1.5 million grant in 1998 from the ILO's International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC). The IPEC program and projects were launched in 1999 to eliminate child labor in the sugar and rice-growing industries as well as a public awareness campaign. Government officials acknowledged that for the IPEC to be implemented, continued judicial and law enforcement reforms were needed. The Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development established a National Steering Committee on Child Labor and a Child Labor Unit to develop a national policy to eliminate child labor; however, such a policy was not developed by year's end. The Government held several awareness training workshops for officials charged with enforcing child labor laws during the year.

 

The law does not prohibit the worst forms of child labor, nor does the Government have a mechanism to address this problem. However, several human rights NGO's began programs aimed at removing children from hazardous work. No reports about the efficacy of these efforts were available at year's end. In October 2000, consultants working for the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development reviewed four labor laws and created draft legislation consistent with ILO Convention 182; on June 21, the Convention was ratified and new provisions were incorporated into the draft Employment Bill 2000 to comply with international standards; the law had not been passed by year's end.

 

The recruitment age for military service is 18 years; however, in practice some recruiters have allowed 17-year-olds to enlist (see Section 5).

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, a lack of resources prevented the Government from enforcing this prohibition effectively (see Section 6.c.).

 

Trafficking in children occurs (see Section 6.f.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The minimum legal wage is $3.50 (6,000 shillings) per month, a rate set in the early 1960's. This wage is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Wages continued to be determined through negotiation between individuals and their employers, unions, and proprietors, or through negotiation within the boards of directors at state-owned industries. Salaries usually are augmented by other benefits such as housing and transport allowances, which often are equal to base wages. The Ministry of Labor's salary scale for civil servants starts with unskilled labor at $44 (75,000 shillings) per month, up to supervisors at $350 (600,000 shillings) per month, plus modest increases for years worked. All include provisions for paid overtime. The higher end of this wage scale would provide minimal standards of living for a worker and family, but most civil servants have great difficulty earning enough money to pay their children's school costs. Many civil servants and their dependents work in second jobs, grow their own food, or seek other ways to supplement their incomes. In industries that employ workers on an hourly basis, the normal workweek was 40 hours. Although there was no legal maximum workweek, a time-and-a-half rate was paid for each additional hour worked. Many industries pay workers by piecework, which avoids overtime and circumvents the prohibition on child labor. Many companies employ workers as "casual laborers" or "contract workers" in order to avoid providing benefits.

 

The condition of employee housing on the tea and sugar plantations at the major state-owned corporations, and within military and police barracks, was substandard. Sanitation and water facilities often are lacking.

 

Building codes often are not enforced. Some structures have tripled in height above the original foundations, leading local engineers to express reservations about the structural integrity of these workplaces. Factories generally are sound, but machinery almost always lacks safeguards.

 

The law establishes some occupational health and safety standards. In September 2000, the Government enacted the Workers' Compensation Act, which significantly increased compensation, based on monthly salaries, for workers injured or killed at work. The Ministry of Labor's Department of Occupational Health is responsible for enforcement of occupational safety regulations; however, in practice inspections are rare, due primarily to lack of vehicles and funding for inspection trips. There were fatal accidents at several construction projects at a rate of approximately one per month. The limited occupational safety regulations under the law do not protect workers who refuse to perform dangerous work from being fired, although strong unions in certain dangerous industries protect such workers.

 

Foreign workers are protected under the Occupational Health and Safety Law.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law prohibits trafficking in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country. There is strong evidence that prison officials hired out prisoners to work on private farms and construction sites, where they often were overworked (see Section 6.c.). There were unconfirmed reports that government officials were complicit in the illegal trafficking of Asian workers to the country. The Government made significant efforts to combat trafficking in persons despite severe resource constraints and the civil conflict with the LRA.

 

In 2000 Molo Songolo, a South African child rights organization, reported that children were trafficked from the country to South Africa; however, the credibility of the report is unknown. The children allegedly were abducted or bought from their parents by organized gangs from Nigeria, DRC, and Angola. There were no further reports during the year.

 

UGANDA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

UGANDA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

In industries that employ workers on an hourly basis, the normal workweek is 40 hours. Although there is no legal maximum workweek, a time-and-a-half rate is paid for each additional hour worked.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Uganda – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)