By Dennis Katungi
As we celebrated Labour Day on May 01st, I remembered the words of the famous English writer Charles Dickens because they capture timeless wisdom on life, human nature and we may add our ‘Labour pains’ Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” (A Tale of Two Cities). Uganda has certainly moved a long way as far as labour protection laws are concerned. But we are not yet there.
As one of the countries with the youngest populations in the world, 75% of them under 30, Uganda enjoys a demographic dividend. This presents a unique opportunity for our youth and the country. With proper guidance and investment, the youth can become a driving force behind Uganda’s technology and agricultural revolution which would lead to economic growth. Alas; Gender & Labour Ministry indicates participation remaining low at 43.2% largely attributed to structural constrains in labour market absorption with youth exclusion – those not in employment, education or training at 42.6%.
Young people face significant barriers to formal employment or business start up - which bars them from enjoying labour protection laws especially, the Employment Act, 2006, which regulates employment contracts, employee rights, employer obligations, and improved workplace conditions. Employees must have contracts of service, be they oral or written, outlining terms and conditions of employment. Employers must also comply with the minimum standards set by the Employment Act. It states that any terms less favourable than the Act are null and void; but are they?
Let’s do a dip stick and measure informal youth employment as well as underemployment in sectors like agriculture and domestic work and you find that many are operating largely outside of the Employment Act. They seem to work at the whims and fancies of the employers unprotected by labour laws.
Like most economies in the developing world, Uganda is characterised by a disproportionately large informal sector. Informality, particularly among the youth, may constrain growth, fiscal space and social inclusion. Uganda’s Labour force participation remains relatively low at 43% with youth exclusion particularly pronounced at 42.6% of those aged between 15 -24 not in (employment, education or training). A large informal sector is typically associated with reduced tax revenues, increased poverty, less labour rights and income inequality.
In addition, informal labour and business activities, which evade regulatory and tax authorities often involve low-skilled youth working in poor conditions with limited access to social protection. Ironically, even in the developed world they grapple with a burgeoning informal sector but their problems are different because they are cushioned by state welfare benefits. In 2005, the UK Department for Work & Pensions commissioned Dr Aaron Barbour and myself to do a survey on London’s informal sector. Using the Index of Multiple Deprivation [IMD], our ground breaking research unearthed a substantial informal sector associated with benefit fraud. The Book I co- authored: ‘People working in the informal sector; Need, not Greed] is available on Amazon. It led to a number of corrective measures taken by a number of Government Departments in UK to enhance formalisation of the most affected sectors and this resulted in a curb on benefit fraud.
Underemployment is real in Uganda. You will come across graduates working in the Boda-Boda sector or as domestic workers. It has been established that some of the hawkers recently affected by the Trade Order have University degrees and diplomas. When these informal workers and tradesmen get pushed off the streets, where do they go? City markets cannot take all of them. Is the Employment Act, 2006 relevant to these categories of workers?
The multitudes of informal domestic workers operating locally and abroad are not protected by the Employment Act, 2006. A case in point is the recent matter involving a high court judge, convicted in UK for ‘slavery and human trafficking’, a disturbing case indeed.
Lady Justice Lydia Mugambe, a Ugandan qualified Lawyer and High Court Judge got in trouble with UK authorities on ‘slave labour’. On her conviction for breaching UK employment laws; a Crown Court prosecutor said: “As a Lawyer, a Judge and a United Nations Criminal Tribunal Adjudicator, you understood Labour laws but chose to overlook them”. He went on: “You exploited the victim by forced labour working as a maid and providing child care for free. Modern slavery offences such as this are incredibly serious and can have a profound effect on the lives of the victims”. The Lady Justice was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in jail at Oxford Crown Court in May 2025.
As Uganda joins the global commemorations, we need to intensify calls to both state and non state actors to measure up to this year’s theme: ‘Safeguarding Uganda’s progress by empowering the workforce and promoting Decent Work for Competitive Enterprise”.
The writer is Head of Communications & Media Relations – Uganda Media Centre.
@Dennis_Katungi
