Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Uganda (Ratification: 1967)

Other comments on C122

Observation

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Article 2 of the Convention. Labour market information system. In its report received in June 2012, the Government indicates that the Labour Market Information Unit (LMI) is a small structure in the Directorate of Labour where capacity building is needed in order to enable the LMI to carry out regular studies on different aspects of employment and labour. The Committee notes with interest the detailed statistical information contained in the second issue of the Labour Market Information Bulletin was published in 2010. It further notes that Uganda is among the countries participating in the Project on the Improvement of Labour Market Information in Africa (2010–12) funded by the African Capacity Building Foundation. The overall objective of the project is to develop the capacity to collect, analyse and disseminate labour market information in a continuous and timely manner. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report up-to-date information on the current situation and trends regarding the active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment throughout the country and in the different regions, by sector of activity, sex, age and level of qualifications.

Articles 1 and 2. Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. Following its previous observations, the Committee recalls that the National Employment Policy (NEP) for Uganda was completed, adopted by Cabinet and launched by the President in May 2011. The NEP addressed the problems of unemployment, underemployment, labour productivity and poverty in the country. Furthermore, the NEP stressed that despite Government poverty reduction efforts, the number of Ugandans living under poverty (7.5 million according to the data provided by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in 2009) is still high and that addressing unemployment and underemployment is one of the ways to further reduce poverty levels. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the results achieved and the difficulties encountered in attaining the employment policy objectives set out in the National Employment Policy, including results of the programmes established to stimulate growth and economic development, raise living standards, respond to labour force needs and resolve the problems of unemployment and underemployment.

Promotion of youth employment. The Committee recalls that the NEP indicated that the population was predominantly young with children and youth constituting 75 per cent of the total population. According to the UBOS, the youth population was estimated to increase from 5.4 million in 2002 to 8.5 million in 2015. Despite the introduction of universal primary education, the majority of new entrants to the labour force over the period 2002–03 to 2009–10 had not completed primary education. Poor training, low productivity jobs and low wages trap the working poor and exclude young persons from participating in economic growth. The Committee notes that the NEP also emphasized that the youth requires to be instilled with, among others, a positive work culture, commitment and dedication to work, including discipline, career guidance and counselling and provision of skills to enable them to meet the current needs of the labour market. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the results of programmes concerning education and vocational training for young persons. Please also provide information on the efforts made to improve the employment situation for young persons and the results achieved in terms of designing targeted programmes and incentives for promotion of sustainable job creation for the youth.

Promotion of women’s employment. The Committee recalls that women represent over 50 per cent of the labour force. A larger percentage of the female rather than the male labour force is illiterate. Unequal access to education restricts women to sectors with low productivity and low wages, and most of the young unemployed persons are women. The Government indicates that women in Uganda constitute the majority of farmers and unpaid workers as they are responsible for most of the care economy. Only 12 per cent of women are in wage employment compared to the 25 per cent of economically active men (the male participation rate in wage sectors is more than three times that of women). The Committee notes that there is a sharp segregation of women into low-paying sectors such as agriculture; women in low-paying sectors receive at most half the average male wage. Recalling the Committee’s comments under the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), as to the occupation segregation of women and its contribution to the gender pay gap, the Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on Convention No. 122 on the efforts to improve job creation and increase labour market participation for women as a result of the measures adopted.

Informal economy. The Committee notes that, according to the Labour Market Information Bulletin, 63.7 per cent of those who worked outside agriculture were working in the informal sector; in the case of the female workforce such ratio was equivalent to 67.2 per cent, while in the case of the male workforce it was equivalent to 61.1 per cent. Approximately 60 per cent of the urban workforce and 67 per cent of the rural workforce were working in the informal sector. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the efforts made to extend access to justice, property rights, labour rights and business rights to the informal economy workers and business (see 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, paragraph 697). It also invites the Government to indicate how the initiatives relating to micro-enterprises have contributed to improving the working conditions in the informal economy.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Committee recalls that the NEP was developed by a National Taskforce comprising ministry officials, representatives of the Federation of Uganda Employers, of the unions and of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Furthermore, the NEP stressed that the Government should take overall responsibility for its implementation with the participation of other actors, including the private sector, employers’ and workers’ organizations, development partners, as well as other stakeholders. The Ministry responsible for Labour was responsible for spearheading the implementation of the policy in collaboration with other ministries, social partners and agencies that play a key role in employment creation. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report examples of the questions addressed or the decisions reached on employment policy through tripartite bodies. It would also appreciate to receive information on the involvement of the social partners in the implementation of the National Employment Policy.