Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

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

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It refers to its previous comments and it hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes the Government's very brief report for the period ending June 1988. The Government mainly refers to an ILO multidisciplinary advisory mission which visited Uganda in October-November 1988 to review methods of strengthening the Ministry of Labour's structure and functions. The Committee is concerned about the serious problems in the fields of employment policy, labour administration and wages and incomes policy described in the report of the ILO mission ("Wages, incomes policies and employment in Uganda: Agenda for institutional reform", which was published by JASPA in 1989). The mission made various recommendations in its report, including project ideas of technical assistance. It pointed out in particular the urgent need to establish a labour market information system in order to build up in a systematic way necessary database for policy-makers and planners to translate employment planning into the promotion of job opportunities. It also suggests that particular attention should be paid to the collection and analysis of information as a basis to deal with the occupational needs of specific categories of workers such as rural workers, workers in the informal sector, women, young persons and the disabled.

2. Furthermore, the Committee was informed that the ILO has also been active in supplying technical co-operation through four labour-intensive support projects; and three new projects related with employment and population planning have been implemented since 1989.

3. The Committee hopes that the Government will benefit from the technical assistance, especially the assistance of JASPA, in order to enable it to promote the goal of the Convention to pursue an active employment policy (Article 1 of the Convention). It hopes in particular that, taking into account the labour market situation, the projects designed to strengthen the labour administration and the labour market information system could be made operational shortly in order to further assist the Government in deciding and keeping under review, within the framework of a co-ordinated economic and social policy, the measures to be adopted to attain the objectives specified in Article 1 (Article 2). It trusts that in its future reports the Government will supply all available information on the action taken as a result of the technical assistance provided by the ILO, and indicate any factors which may have prevented or delayed such action (point V of the report form).

4. The Committee hopes that the next report or reports will contain all available information on the measures adopted or envisaged to implement the Convention, including a description of the policies pursued and the measures taken in the framework of the ongoing Economic Recovery Programme, with particular reference to overall and sectoral development policies, labour market policies and educational and training policies. It would be grateful if the Government would indicate the manner in which the effects on employment of measures taken to promote economic development or other economic and social objectives receive due consideration.

5. Article 3. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the Government's statement that the Labour Advisory Board is expected to be reconstituted soon, and that it is hoped that the current labour legislation being drafted will place the Board on a statutory basis. In this connection, the Committee would like to emphasise the relevance of the recommendation made by the mission report mentioned above and according to which the tasks of policy-makers, planners and those involved in labour market information activities could be strengthened by the formation of a national tripartite co-ordinating committee with representatives from relevant government ministries and agencies and employers' and workers' organisations. The Committee trusts that in its next reports the Government will provide further indications on the manner in which representatives of the persons affected by the measures to be taken, and in particular representatives of employers and workers, are consulted. Please also indicate whether formal consultative procedures in the matters covered by the Convention have been established.