Workers welcome minimum wage bill

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Workers have welcomed the Minimum Wage Bill. On Tuesday, Parliament passed the Minimum Wage Bill, 2018. The Bill empowers the Minister of labour to appoint a Minimum Wages Board to fix all minimum wages for various sectors. The minister is also mandated to announce the minimum wages annually.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines a minimum wage as the minimum sum of money payable to a worker for work performed or services rendered within a given period to cover the minimum needs of the worker, his or her family, in light of national economic and social conditions.

Some of the workers want the minimum wages board set up expeditiously.

Keith Kule who is a waiter in one of the hotels in the city centre says that 350,000 shillings should be the minimum wage set regardless of the sectors being reviewed.

John Mukasa, a motor vehicle mechanic who also owns a driving school. He supports the Bill but says there is a need to differentiate salaries from wages.

However, a retired civil servant, who preferred anonymity, says that the board should set figures that employers can afford to pay the employees.

The mover of the Bill, Workers MP Arinaitwe Rwakajara says despite expectations from the public, it was unrealistic to set a figure for the minimum wage in the Bill.

Rwakajara has also warned that a minimum wage law does not necessarily mean that workers will get higher salaries. It will, however, create harmony between employers and employees.

The committee chairperson, Alex Ndeezi says that while processing the Bill, suggestions were made on a fixed minimum wage for all sectors of the economy. However, the committee rejected those proposals and opted for a periodic review by the board.

Ndeezi is also happy that the law makes it mandatory for the minister to appoint the board every three years and announce minimum wages annually.

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