Parliament has passed into law the Minimum Wage Bill 2015 and Uganda Wildlife Bill 2017.
In a seating chaired by Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah on Tuesday, Members of Parliament resolved to pass the bills after an extensive debate.
The Minimum Wage Bill 2015 seeks to provide for the determination of a minimum wage based on the different sectors of the economy.
The Bill further provides for two different Minimum wages determination mechanisms being public and private. Under Public Wage determination, the minimum wages are determined by the board and apply to a given sector, while in private wage determination mechanism; parties agree contractually to a minimum wage applicable to them as long as that wage is reviewed every two years and is not lower than the minimum wage determined for that sector if any.
Lira Municipality MP James Akena said that the Minimum Wage Bill will improve the working conditions of the citizens.
“The Bill will protect the citizens from being abused by their employers.”
Mbale Municipality legislator Wamai Wamanga revealed that the Minimum Wage Bill will help fight corruption in places of work.
Whereas Kabweri County MP Francis Barnabas Gonahasa argued that the Minimum Wage Bill will increase the quality of life of Ugandans.
“The purchasing power will increase and our people will be able to get the basic needs. The challenge is, how do we enforce this? We need to do some regulation”, he said.
However, Arua Municipality MP Kasiano Wadri expressed fear that not all workers will be protected in case minimum wage rules are broken since not all of them are under unions.
“Uganda is one of those countries that had never addressed the issue of minimum wage and it offends article 40 of the constitution. I am afraid that not all workers are unionised. What enforcement methods do we have to handle this?” he inquired.
On the other hand, the Uganda Wildlife Bill 2017, provides for the conservation and sustainable management of wild life in order to strengthen wildlife conservation and management as well as to enable the Uganda Wildlife Authority streamline roles and responsibilities for institutions in wildlife conservation and management.
Traffickers of animal parts will be sentenced to a lifetime in jail with the new Uganda Wildlife Bill.
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