President Yoweri Museveni has ignored calls by leaders of workers' unions in the country to sign into law the minimum wage bill. Christopher Werikhe the Secretary General Uganda National Organization of Trade Unions said the President ought to sign the bill into law in order to improve employment conditions.
Werikhe told the president that the argument by his government tgat the law could scare away investors is back ward thinking since deceloped countries have done it and are even developing further due to a motivated working force.
However, the minister of Gender, Labour and social Development Hajjat Janat Mukwaya asked the President to hold on as there are some amendments that need to be made as she wrote to the President.
However, when the President stood to give his speech, all this was ignored, he instead concentrated on business and the health sectors.
He also hhailed the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development for focusing the theme of todays Labour Day celebrations on the strategic development infrastructure that the government has tailored for job creation in Uganda.
The theme of the day as identified by the Ministry is a clearheaded slogan linked to infrastructure building in order to create jobs, he said.
The national celebrations marking International Labour Day that took place at Patongo Akwee Primary School grounds, Agago District in Northern Uganda.
The celebrations which were also attended by Vice-President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, Prime Minister, Ruhakana Rugunda and Deputy Chief Justice, Owiny Dollo, among others, saw the decoration of a number of Ugandans receive medals in appreciation of their diverse contributions in the service of their country.
The theme of the celebrations evolved on promoting employment through enhanced public infrastructure development. The President emphasised the need for the country to optimise employment opportunities through the establishment of public infrastructure to aid job creation targeting the youth.
The President used the occasion to re-affirm to the people of Uganda that the nation continues to grow characterized by among others, the opening of factories most of the time because of the infrastructure growth and the prevailing peaceful environment.
Mr. Museveni, advised the people of the Acholi Sub-Region in Northern Uganda to embrace modern commercial methods of agriculture to create jobs for others rather than waiting for foreign investors to create jobs for them. He also stressed the observance of hygiene and nutrition, among others, because is an important aspect that enables people undertake their production activities to create wealth in their homesteads.
