Government seeks to gazette particular jobs for only Ugandans

Government in its new proposed Employment Amendment (No.2) Bill, 2022 seeks to declare particular jobs performed by only Ugandans except in circumstances where Uganda has entered into agreements with foreign countries.

The Bill was tabled before Parliament on Friday by the Minster for Gender, Labor and Social Development, Betty Amongi.

It’s object is to amend the Employment Act 2006 to provide for recruitment agencies, streamline the process of recruitment of employees for employment abroad, provide for severance allowances, require all employers to put measures in place that prevent sexual harassment at workplace, introduce a new on employment of migrant workers within Uganda and regulate which jobs may not be offered to non-citizens and others.

Government suggests that instead of having individual persons to engage in the business of recruiting persons, it may be better managed by companies registered in Uganda.

“More so, the provisions on externalization of labour are currently entrenched in Regulations made under the Act, however, the Government feels that the provisions are better placed in an Act of Parliament. It is the intention of Government to have particular jobs performed by only Ugandans except in circumstances where Uganda has entered into agreements that allow nationals of a foreign country to be employed in Uganda to perform similar jobs and vice versa or where the Minister has granted an exemption,” reads part of the Bill.

The proposed Act provides that the Minister shall, by notice in the Gazette declare a range of jobs that migrant workers shall not be offered for employment.

According to the Bill, a person commits an offence when he or she grants an entry permit to a migrant worker for a job declared by a Minister as not available for employment for non- Ugandans. The offence attracts a penalty of a fine not exceeding 10 million Shillings or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

The same penalty also applies to a person who knowingly furnishes false information for the purpose of procuring an entry permit or exemption certificate and obtains any document by means of fraud or submits a false or forged document.

Under the Bill, the Minister may make an exemption for a migrant worker to be employed in a job declared as not available for non-Ugandans where Uganda has an existing agreement with a foreign organisation or company where the migrant worker wishes to be employed, has an agreement with a State of the migrant worker that allows the movement of workers or services on reciprocal arrangement or where a particular skill is required and there is no one within Uganda to provide such a skill.

“The National Citizenship and Immigration Board shall not issue an entry permit to a migrant worker who is offered employment in a job declared by the Minister under section 92B, except where the migrant worker possesses an exemption certificate issued by the Commissioner responsible for employment services. The Minister may, by regulations, prescribe the procedure for obtaining the exemption certificates,” further reads the Bill.

The Bill prohibits a person to facilitate the illicit or concealed movement of persons for employment abroad by organizing the departure, transit or arrival of the persons in Uganda, or give assistance to any Organisation for that purpose.

An employer is also prohibited to employ a person whom he or she knows to be unlawfully present in Uganda.

The Bill also requires every employer to make available at the place of work, time, space or a facility for breastfeeding employees to tend to their children who are below 36 months. It is also proposed that the Act is amended to make it mandatory for every employer to have in place measures that prevent sexual harassment at work place.

Currently, the employment Act does not require employers who have less than 25 employees to put in place measures that prevent sexual harassment at the work place. The Act does not also address the subject of breastfeeding children or care taking of children of employees at a work place.

The Bill provides that any person who contravenes a provision of the proposed Act, for which no penalty is expressly provided is liable, on conviction to a fine not exceeding 10 million Shillings and on a second or subsequent conviction for the same offence, is liable to a fine not exceeding 140,000 Shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or both.

“Where an employer acts in contravention of any provision of this Act not specifically designated as an offence, a labour officer may caution him or her in writing against repeating or continuing such behaviour and if having received a written caution, the employer repeats the infringement in respect of which a caution, has been given, he or she commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 10 million Shillings or to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both,” provides the Bill.

For an employer who was previously convicted and commits a subsequent offence against the same provision of the Act, the Bill suggests a fine not exceeding 14 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.

“Where a court imposes a fine under this Act, it may direct that the fine, when recovered, or such part of it as the court thinks fit, shall be applied to compensate any employer, employee or other person for any wrong done,” further provides the Bill.

Minister Amongi defended the new Bill saying that due to passage of time, some aspects of the Employment Act have become outdated, especially in the light of the present day Government policies, emerging international best practices in the labour market and the legal environment.

“Uganda has in the recent past witnessed an increase in numbers of Ugandans seeking employment abroad and migrants coming in for employment. However, these areas have remained inadequately regulated and have not been reformed despite the inadequacies,” said Amongi.

She said there is a need for changes in the law to bring it in line with current Government policies and accepted common law principles that govern the employer-employee relationship.

Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa referred the Bill to Parliament’s Committee on Gender for scrutiny. However, Workers MP Margaret Rwabushaija had also two months earlier presented a private member’s Bill and following the presentation of a new government Bill, Tayebwa guided that the committee reconciles the two.