The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Domestic Workers Association has petitioned the Speaker of Parliament seeking for a minimum wage saying they are highly exploited at their workplaces.
The Association comprised of over 1,000 local house helps organized under the Platform for Labour Action have also called for the expedition of the sexual offenses bill that seeks to among others, enhance punishment of sexual offenders, protection of victims, as many of them are being sexually harassed.
They also called for the passing of the Employment Amendment bill 2019 that seeks to protect and recognize all workers.
According to Florence Athieno a domestic worker, they face a lot of challenges due to the nature of their work which has left the house helps socially and legally isolated.
She says the stigmatization and discrimination of domestic workers has led to gross rights abuses where workers are abused by their employers in homes, are beaten and also underpaid.
Athieno says that some domestic workers are paid 30,000 shillings a month, while many girls who come from the villages are violated, and harassed. She called on Parliament and the Speaker to intervene in this by passing laws that will protect the women.
John Ssemugany a male domestic worker who mostly does outdoor activity says as men they are poorly paid, but are also sexually harassed and are at the risk of contracting diseases. He says in some cases they are faced with a choice of losing a job simply because your rejecting advances from an employer.
The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga pledged to play her part to ensure that the bills are passed in the remaining months before the end of the 1oth parliament.
According to Kadaga, some of the actions by the domestic workers like mistreating children and misbehave could simply be a the reaction to being harassed by their employers.
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