Workers union petitions Parliament over poor conditions

The Uganda Local Government Workers Union has petitioned Parliament to intervene in their pursuit for better working conditions.

Mr Hassan Mudiba, the Union’s General Secretary, while presenting the petition to the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, on Friday 19 February 2021 said the government had failed to respect the Collective Bargaining Agreement it had signed with the Union and other Public Service Labour Unions in June 2018.

“The Union members have been subjected to very low pay; lack of accommodation and transport; no medical care facilities. The micro finance institutions have stringent terms on loans and the banks give loans at a higher percentage which leads to officials getting multiple loans and eventually to perpetual poverty,” Mudiba said.

He added that the government has continued to discriminate public officials in terms of pay between the scientists and non-scientists.

“The scientists are considered more important and their pay is more yet both were appointed as public officers. There should be set parameters between the two so as to stop the issues of discrimination since there is no economy the world over which has developed because the efforts of scientists only,” he said.

Mudiba also noted that the government continues to assign more responsibilities on the local government workers with no additional remuneration. He cited projects like the Presidential Initiative on Wealth Creation; Youth Livelihood Programme; Senior Citizens Grant to mention but a few.

Speaker Kadaga in her response, said the petition would be forwarded to the committees of Local Government and Budget for scrutiny as it involved the budget.

“I will send this petition to the committee so that it calls for a public hearing. There is also an issue of finances which means the report has to be forwarded to the Budget Committee before the budget process is concluded,” she said.