Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the results achieved and the difficulties encountered in attaining the employment policy objectives set out in its National Employment Policy (NEP). The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the evaluation of the implementation of the NEP conducted by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. According to the evaluation findings, the overarching development agenda addressed the most pressing employment challenges, but did not effectively translate into a coherent implementation strategy due to inadequate coordination across the government, inadequate labour market information, conflicting policy objectives and a bias towards short-term priorities over longer-term sustainable progress. In addition, the National Employment Council, the governmental body responsible for coordinating, guiding, streamlining and monitoring efforts towards implementation of the NEP, has not yet been established. The Committee notes that the country has registered a modest increase in total employment in recent years and that lower-productivity activities, such as subsistence agriculture and petty trade have expanded. In this regard, the Committee observes that the percentage of the formal and informal labour engaged in low productivity agricultural activities increased from 69 per cent in 2009 to 72 per cent in 2012–13. Moreover, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the rate of unemployment under the newly revised definition (which counts subsistence farmers as employed persons) was 9.4 per cent in 2012–13, while the underemployment rate during the same period was 8.9 per cent, being especially common in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, while the percentage of people living below the poverty line decreased from 24.3 per cent in 2009–10 to 19.7 per cent in 2012–13, significant disparities in poverty levels persist across regions and between rural and urban areas, with the highest levels of poverty reported in Northern Uganda (44 per cent). The Committee notes the adoption of the second National Development Plan 2015/16-2019/20 (NDPII) in June 2015, whose principal objective is “strengthening the country’s competitiveness for sustainable wealth creation, employment and inclusive growth”. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved and the challenges encountered in attaining the employment policy objectives set out in the second National Development Plan (NDPII), including results of the programmes established to stimulate growth and economic development, raise living standards, respond to labour force needs and address unemployment and underemployment. The Committee further requests the Government to continue providing up-to-date information, including statistical data disaggregated by economic sector, sex and age, on the current situation and trends regarding the active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment throughout the country and in the different regions.

Promotion of youth employment. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the results of the programmes adopted concerning education and vocational training for young persons as well as on efforts made to improve the employment situation for young persons. The Committee notes that, according to the NDPII, young persons make up 21.3 per cent of the total population and 57 per cent of the labour force. According to the UBOS, the number of young persons in employment increased from 63.1 per cent in 2013 to 64.5 per cent in 2015; however, the unemployment rate for young persons also increased from 9.7 per cent in 2013 to 14.7 per cent in 2015. Moreover, the vast majority of all young workers (92 per cent) were engaged in informal employment in 2015. The Committee notes that, in response to high rates of unemployment and poverty among young persons, in December 2016 the Government launched the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) under the Ministry of Labour, Gender and Social Development (MLGSD) and with the participation of key stakeholders. The YLP provides young persons with vocational skills and interest-free loans to assist them in becoming self-employed. In relation to the education of the labour force, the Committee notes that the school-to-work transition survey (SWTS–2015) developed by the ILO shows that 68 per cent of young Ugandans not in school had only completed a primary education, while only 3.4 per cent had completed a tertiary education. In this regard, the Committee notes the adoption of the National Adult Literacy Policy 2014 and Action Plan (2011/12–2015/16) intended to guide the provision and coordination of adult literacy services. In addition, during 2009–13, enrolment in formal business, technical, vocational education and training (BTVET) increased by 73 per cent (with 66 per cent men and 34 per cent women). Enrolment in higher education increased by 18 per cent, with a significant increase in female enrolment. Nevertheless, according to the SWTS-2015 findings, young persons with a tertiary level of education had higher levels of unemployment (12 per cent) than the national average. Despite the adoption of the BTVET Strategic Plan 2011–20 in 2011, persistent challenges highlighted by the NDPII in the area of vocational education and training include: inadequate skills to support increased production and expansion; poor work readiness of many young people leaving formal education and entering the labour market; inadequate linkages between employers and workplace learning; and lack of literacy. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which the implementation of the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and other programmes providing education and vocational training for young persons has promoted access for young people to full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures envisaged or adopted to reduce the unemployment rate of young people, particularly those with higher levels of education, and to reduce the percentage of young people in informal employment.

Promotion of women’s employment. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to improve job creation and increase the labour market participation of women. The Government reports that, according to data derived from the Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) data 2012–13, 45 per cent of the total employed population were women, but only 39.1 per cent were in wage employment. The NDPII indicates that there has been improvement in the number of women in political leadership and in terms of gender parity in enrolment of boys and girls at the primary school level, in addition to increased ownership of land by women. The Committee also notes the prioritization of gender equality in Uganda’s Vision Statement 2020 as a cross-cutting enabler for socio-economic transformation, and the implementation of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) under the MLGSD, with the aim of contributing to the creation of self-employment and household wealth through activities such as the mobilization and sensitization of communities, training and capacity development, and provision of access to credit, appropriate technology and markets. The Committee notes, however, that despite the progress made, the conditions sustaining gender inequality persist: gender disparities in access and control over productive resources such as land (only 27 per cent of registered land is owned by women); the limited share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector; higher rates of illiteracy among the female labour force than the male labour force (27.6 per cent of women and 12.3 per cent of men have no formal schooling). Recalling the Committee’s 2014 comments under the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), concerning the occupational segregation of women and its contribution to the gender pay gap, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to combat the persistence of occupational segregation on the basis of sex (both vertical and horizontal) and to increase the labour force participation rate of women in the formal labour market.

Informal economy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to extend access to justice, property rights, labour rights and business rights to the informal economy workers and business, and to indicate the manner in which Government initiatives relating to micro-enterprises had contributed to improving working conditions in the informal economy. The Committee notes the growing importance of the informal economy, which has absorbed four out of five new entrants into the labour market. According to the SWTS–2015, 92 per cent of young workers were involved in informal employment (93 per cent women and 91 per cent men). The rate of informal employment in rural areas was higher (94 per cent) than that in urban areas (87 per cent). The Government indicates, moreover, that the informal economy is characterized by widespread labour right violations and decent work deficits. In particular, workers in the informal sector are excluded from social security protection and there are important gaps in terms of social dialogue. The Committee notes that the majority of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), operate informally. In this respect, the Committee notes the adoption, in consultation with stakeholders, of the Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Policy in June 2015, which provides opportunities for informal MSMEs to increase their expertise through skills upgrading and certification, and encourages them to formalize their operations in order to enjoy greater legitimacy through government protection. Noting that a growing proportion of the labour force is employed in the informal economy, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the efforts made to extend access to justice, property rights, labour rights and business rights to informal economy workers and business (see General Survey of 2010 on employment instruments, paragraph 697). It also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Policy has contributed to improving working conditions in the informal economy, particularly for young persons.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes that the NDPII was formulated in collaboration with stakeholders, including ministries, local governments, the private sector, civil society organizations and international agencies. In addition, the NDPII emphasizes that the Government should take overall responsibility for its implementation with the participation of the private sector, development partners, the civil society and other non-state actors. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the involvement of the social partners in the implementation of the second National Development Plan (NDPII).