The government is planning reforms to Uganda’s labour export system aimed at reducing delays in recruitment, improving workers’ skills and securing better working conditions for Ugandans seeking employment abroad.
Minister of State for Labour Simon Mulongo says the government wants to reduce the time taken to license labour export companies from the current four to six months to about one month or less.
The reforms will also seek to digitise the application and licensing process to make it faster and more competitive with other countries in the region that export labour.
“We found that this process took about four to six months to be able to license companies. We want to lower that to about a month or less, and also the paperwork. We would like to see whether we cannot do the entire process online,” Mulongo said.
The minister says the government also plans to strengthen skills training for Ugandans being recruited for jobs abroad, particularly in domestic work, childcare and technical occupations.
He says workers will be trained in basic technologies and operational skills relevant to the jobs they are expected to perform before they travel.
“We do not want to send people who are totally raw. We want to ensure that they are skilled in the basic stuff… so that when they go there, it elevates their chances of getting engaged,” he said.
The government also plans to engage destination countries to identify the skills they need from Ugandan workers and tailor training programmes accordingly.
Mulongo says Uganda is targeting a gradual shift from exporting largely unskilled labour towards skilled workers over the next five years.
The government also intends to negotiate better terms and conditions for Ugandan migrant workers, including decent treatment, stronger complaint-handling mechanisms and, where possible, minimum wages for specific categories of workers.
The reforms come amid continued concerns over the welfare of Ugandans working abroad, as well as disruptions to labour migration caused by travel restrictions affecting some key destinations.
The government says improving the recruitment and preparation of migrant workers, while strengthening protections in destination countries, will be central to making labour export safer and more beneficial to Ugandans.
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