National Labour Conference 2023 at Serana Hotel.

The inaugural annual Labour Conference is underway at Serena Hotel. 

The 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga is the Chief Guest.

 A host of Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Development Partners, and leaders of worker's and employer's unions are in attendance. 

The conference is part of the activities the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development is holding ahead of this year's International Labour Day to be marked on Monday 1st May 2023.

While making her opening remarks, the minister of Gender, Hon. Betty Amongi Akena says 41% of the total working-age population is engaged in subsistence farming which means that a substantial proportion of the workforce neither generates an income nor engages with the markets. 

She added that The other emerging changes in the world include technology which is changing the nature of work and the demand for skills. 

"Technology has altered access to jobs shifting the way of work from the informal sector to digital platforms. Data indicates that online jobs constitute about 7%". - Amongi.

In the conclusion, Minster Amongi revealed that workers are unaware of their employer's responsibility to ensure a safe working environment, and many, according to the survey we have done, many workers are not aware of their rights in the workplace.

Rt. Hon. Rebecca A. Kadaga who was the chief guest, also elaborated on several issues. According to ILO the estimated average working time in Uganda in 2022 is 33 hours per worker per week instead of the 48 hours recommended.

She says that In Kenya, the average working time in a week is 45.2 hours, and 39.1 hours in Tanzania.

"We also have the violation of ethical principles of fairness, honesty, and integrity. There is a high level of theft of time and materials as well as fraud in both public and private sectors. A lot of company time is lost to social media" - said Kadaga.