Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Uganda (Ratification: 1963)

Article 5(a) of the Convention. Cooperation between the inspection services and other public institutions. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in response to its previous request, that the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has put in place arrangements to strengthen labour inspection services, including: (i) a Memorandum of Understanding with the national roads authority to promote labour standards in the road sector; (ii) collaboration with the National Building Review Board in enforcing safety standards in the construction sector; (iii) collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Sports in enforcing labour standards in the education sector; and (iv) collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service in monitoring service delivery in local government, including labour inspection and through joint inspections. The Committee takes note of this information, which addresses its previous request.

Article 7(3). Training. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in response to its previous request, that newly recruited inspectors receive an induction. With regard to subsequent training, the Government indicates that there are arrangements forcontinuous training of inspectors which includes training at African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC), the International Training Centre of the ILO and the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) and Civil Service College in Uganda. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the training provided to inspectors, including the duration and content of the induction training, and the number of participants, frequency and the subjects covered for subsequent training sessions.

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. The Committee previously noted that an audit of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development indicated limited information sharing between that Ministry, the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Police Force, regarding statistics of occupational accidents, diseases, injuries and fatalities. The Committee notes the Government’s reference, in reply to its previous request, to legislative provisions requiring employers to notify Labour Officers in the case of any accident causing injury that would entitle a worker to compensation (section 10 of the Workers Compensation Act) and to notify the District Labour Officer in case of the death on an employee, the Officer then being required to report the death to the Commissioner in the Ministry responsible for labour (section 42(2) of the Employment Act). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of these provisions with a view to ensuring that the labour inspectorate is notified of industrial accidents, and to provide further information on the measures taken in law and practice in order to ensure the notification of cases of occupational disease, in conformity with Article 14 of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of industrial accidents and the number of cases of occupational disease reported to the relevant authorities.