Platform for Labour Action (PLA), a group that advocates workers’ rights, has urged employers to support domestic workers by learning more about their rights.
The call was made at Kampala Serena hotel recently, during a workshop at which findings of a survey that covered 6,000 domestic workers were disseminated. Domestic workers provide a variety of household services for individuals and families, from childcare to taking care of elderly dependents to housekeeping to cleaning and household maintenance.
The survey, carried out in Uganda in 2013, found that 88 per cent of employers were unaware of their employees’ rights while 99.2 per cent of domestic workers were ignorant of theirs.
Other categories that were found not to have sufficient information about the rights of domestic workers include local leaders, relatives of victims and the police (29 per cent).
The PLA Acting Executive Director Grace Mukwaya explained that the research findings confirmed the need to regulate the sector, recognize domestic work as an occupation and put in place a minimum wage. She said this would be instrumental in averting the situation.
“As a labour rights organization, we are committed and fully dedicate our efforts to continue advocating for the rights of domestic workers through awareness creation and engaging all relevant stakeholders through events like this to enable them appreciate domestic workers,” Mukwaya said. She added that domestic workers enable working women to get positions in the boardroom.
Mukwaya asked the minister of state for Labour, Dr Kamanda Bataringaya, to take steps to ensure that the International Labour Organisation convention on decent work for domestic workers is ratified by Uganda. For his part, the minister, who was present during the workshop, commended PLA and pledged to take action.
“As government, we welcome and appreciate everyone making a positive contribution in society. I know domestic workers face a series of abuses. However, for peace and harmony to prevail in our homes, we all need to treat them with respect and dignity; they are human beings like any other person and also workers,” Dr Bataringaya said.
He added that the government would continue to support all efforts in improving the situation of domestic workers, including working to ratify the ILO convention on domestic workers.
The workshop brought together sector stakeholders, including those from the ministry of Labour, members of parliament and representatives of labour unions. Mukwaya explained that the workshop had been called to reflect on the key achievements and challenges in addressing the plight of domestic workers; with the key issue being gross abuse of their rights.
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