Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. The Committee previously requested information on the second National Development Plan 2015/16–2019/20 (NDPII), including on the results of programmes aimed at stimulating growth and economic development, raising living standards, responding to labour force needs and addressing both unemployment and underemployment. The Government’s report does not contain information on the NDPII, instead it refers to continued challenges such as the gender pay gap, lower wages in rural areas than in urban areas, and comparatively low labour productivity. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the third National Development Plan 2020/21–2024/25 (NDPIII), whose principal goal is “Increased Household Incomes and Improved Quality of Life of Ugandans”. According to the NDPIII, the proportion of the labour force in paid employment increased between 2011/12–2016/17, and enrolment in business, technical and vocational education and training increased significantly. The NDPIII nevertheless indicates that labour underutilization remains a challenge, as a large number of Ugandans are underemployed. The Committee notes that, according to the ILOSTAT database, as of 2017, the overall unemployment rate in Uganda stood at 9.8 per cent (8.4 per cent for men and 11.7 per cent for women, respectively). The labour force participation rate was 49.1 per cent in the same year, with a higher participation rate for men than for women (56.9 and 41.8 per cent, respectively). The ILOSTAT database also indicates that the composite rate of labour underutilization for 2017 stood at 30.9 per cent. In this context, the Committee notes that the five strategic objectives of the NDPIII include strengthening the private sector’s capacity to drive growth and create jobs, as well as enhancing the productivity and social well-being of the population. Noting the continued challenges identified by the Government in its report, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the active labour market measures taken and the results achieved in the implementation of the NDPIII, in terms of stimulating growth and economic development, raising living standards, responding to labour force needs and addressing unemployment and underemployment. The Committee further requests the Government to provide up-to-date statistics on current trends regarding employment, unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by sex, age, religion, economic sector and region.

Impact of COVID-19. The Committee notes that, according to a 2020 report from the World Bank, fiscal year 2020 saw a real GDP growth of 2.9 per cent in Uganda, less than half of the 6.8 per cent recorded in fiscal year 2019, mainly due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The World Bank further indicates that employment recovered following the easing of mobility restrictions, with an increase in the share of employment in agriculture, but that it had not returned to previous levels in urban areas. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the nature and impact of response and recovery measures taken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with a view to promoting inclusive sustainable employment and decent work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the challenges encountered and the lessons learned in this context.

Promotion of youth employment. The Committee previously requested information on the measures envisaged or adopted to reduce the unemployment rates of young people as well as the proportion of young people in informal employment. In this respect, the Committee notes that, as of June 2020, according to the NDPIII, the youth unemployment rate stood at 13.3 per cent, and that it seeks to reduce this rate to 9.7 per cent unemployment by the end of the five-year period. According to the NDPIII, there is a large youth population in Uganda (78 per cent); however, a mismatch exists between the skills required by the labour market and the knowledge taught by training institutions. The Committee notes the high proportion of young people in informal employment. The NDPIII indicates that most non-farming employment is in the informal sector (91 per cent), with young people occupying 94.7 per cent of these jobs. The NDPIII envisages various new projects related to youth employment for the period 2020/21–2024/25, including the Youth Livelihood Programme Phase 2 and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Nurturing for Youth Employment Project. The Committee notes the adoption of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy in 2019, which aims to reform the TVET system. The TVET Policy establishes a number of objectives, including improving the quality of the TVET system and strengthening the role of employers and business communities in TVET delivery. The Committee notes that, to promote the economic relevance of TVET, the TVET Policy calls for establishing and linking the TVET Management Information System to the Labour Market Information System as well as to promote lifelong learning opportunities for TVET. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to address the issues related to youth employment identified in the NDPIII, including the skills mismatch and measures to anticipate the future needs of the labour market in the provision of TVET. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature of programmes and projects implemented to promote youth employment, including in the field of TVET and in the context of the NDPIII, and their impact on access for young people to sustainable employment and decent work. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date statistics on youth employment and unemployment rates, disaggregated by sex, age, urban versus rural areas and education level, where available.

Promotion of women’s employment. In its previous comments, the Committee requested information on measures to combat persistent occupational segregation on the basis of sex and to increase the participation rate of women in the formal labour market. The Committee notes that the Uganda Women Empowerment Programme supported 43,977 women beneficiaries through 3,448 projects in the fiscal year 2017–18. The Committee nevertheless observes that the information contained in the NDPIII, also indicates that many women do not have access to arable land, and suggests that gender inequalities persist in the country, including in employment and education. The Government also provides statistics from 2016 indicating that disparities exist in the share of women and men in employment, with men accounting for most of paid employment, while women constitute the majority of the self-employed population. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 12 May 2016, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressed concern that women with disabilities face multiple forms of discrimination, noting the lack of measures for the development, advancement and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities and expressing concern about the few opportunities open for employment for persons with disabilities (document CRPD/C/UGA/CO/1, paragraphs 10 and 52). As regards discrimination against women, including with respect to access to resources, the Committee refers the Government to its comments adopted in 2020 under the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). In addition, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures, including in the context of the NDPIII, to promote access for women to full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through such measures, including statistics on the participation rate of women, including women with disabilities, in the informal and formal labour market.

Informal economy. The Committee notes that the Government refers to exclusions from social protection and other critical challenges existing in the informal sector, including gaps in social dialogue, widespread labour rights violations and decent work deficits. The Government nevertheless states that there is political commitment and will to overcome these challenges. In this regard, the Committee notes that the NDPIII includes a Private Sector Development Programme which has, as one of its key expected results, the reduction of the informal sector to 45 per cent in 2024/25. According to the NDPIII, the private sector in Uganda is dominated by about 1.1 million micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which altogether employ approximately 2.5 million people. Furthermore, most of the country’s start-ups do not last more than two years, because of factors such as inadequate entrepreneurial ability and low-skilled labour. The Committee notes that, according to 2020 data from the UN Capital Development Fund , the COVID-19 crisis is also likely to have an impact on informal workers, with an estimated 4.4 million informal sector workers losing their earning or seeing it fall below the poverty line. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the impact of COVID-19 on employment in the informal economy in Uganda, the active labour market measures taken to tackle the challenges identified, and the measures taken to extend access to justice, property rights, labour rights and business rights to informal economy workers and businesses. It also requests the Government to provide information on the nature and impact of employment programmes developed and implemented in the context of the NDPIII, including the Private Sector Development Programme.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes from section 1.4 of the NDPIII (approach and formulation process) that its strategic direction was informed by an extensive consultation process, based on background analytical work on past industrialization efforts and strategies, trends in key growth areas (agriculture, ICT, minerals, oil and gas), export and import performances, and sector priority papers, among others. The NDPIII also indicates that sector, regional, district and community level stakeholders were consulted in the formulation process, and that other stakeholders, including industrial and business owners, civil society, faith-based organizations and non-governmental organizations also participated in the process. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of the NDPIII.