THE CAPACITY OF THE STATE TO REGULATE CORPORATIONS Analysis of Uganda’s Labour Policies, Legal and Institutional Framework within the Context of Business Activities October 2018 Cover Picture: Child working on a Sugarcane farm in Luuka district. THE CAPACITY OF THE STATE TO REGULATE CORPORATIONS Analysis of Uganda’s Labour Policies, Legal and Institutional Framework within the Context of Business Activities October 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS............................................................................................vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................2 I. THE REGULATION OF CORPORATIONS TO ENHANCE CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPECT FOR LABOUR RIGHTS IN UGANDA............................................................................................5 A. Introduction.................................................................................................................6 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE................................................................................13 A. Global Initiatives and Interventions.......................................................................15 i. UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).................16 ii. United Nations Global Compact...........................................................................19 iii. The World Trade Organisation (WTO)................................................................21 iv. International Labour Organisation (‘ILO’)..........................................................23 v. General Comment No. 24 on State Obligations under the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights in the Context of Business Activities.....................................................................................................................24 vi. General Comment No. 23 (2016) on the Right to Just and Favourable Conditions of Work (Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) ...................................................................................25 vii. The Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development (‘OECD’)...................................................................................................................26 viii. Open Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises (IGWG)...................................27 B. INITIATIVES BY CORPORATIONS...............................................................28 i. Codes of Corporate Governance..........................................................................28 ii. Corporate Social Responsibility..............................................................................30 c. Uganda’s Experience with Corporations .............................................................31 i. Equal Pay for Equal Work .....................................................................................32 ii. Maternity Leave .......................................................................................................33 iii. Casual Labour Regulations .....................................................................................35 iv. Right to Privacy and Forced HIV Testing............................................................36 The Capacity of the State to Regulate Corporations in the Labour Sector v. Use of Poisonous Chemicals in Flower Farms.................................................. .38 III. POLICY, LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK IN UGANDA.................................................................................................................41 A. Policies of Government...........................................................................................42 B. Legal and Institutional Framework in Uganda.....................................................43 i. The Constitution ......................................................................................................43 ii. The Employment Act, 2006....................................................................................44 a. Administration of the Act.......................................................................................46 b. Adjudication..............................................................................................................47 iii. The Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act 2006...........................51 iv. The Labour Unions Act, 2006................................................................................51 v. The Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2006..................................................52 vi. The Workers Compensation Act, Cap 225...........................................................53 vii. The Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006...............................................................53 c. Externalisation of Labour.......................................................................................56 i. General Observations..............................................................................................56 ii. Legal and Institutional Framework in Uganda.....................................................56 IV. OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDERS THAT PLAY CRITICAL ROLE IN ENHANCING CORPORATE REGULATION..............................................61 a. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) .......................................................................................................................62 b. Trade Unions ...........................................................................................................64 V. SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ..........................................69 a. Summary of Findings...............................................................................................70 b. Key Findings...............................................................................................................70 i. Casualisation of labour............................................................................................70 ii. The Industrial Court..............................................................................................73 i The Capacity of the State to Regulate Corporations in the Labour Sector iii. Lack of Minimum Wage..........................................................................................76 iv. Labour Officers.........................................................................................................77 v. Equal Opportunities Commission.........................................................................78 vi. Uganda Human Rights Commission ....................................................................79 VI. CONCLUSION........................................................................................................83 VI. RECOMMENDATIONS AND WAYFORWARD............................................87 a. Recommendations....................................................................................................88 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................91 LEGISLATION.......................................................................................................91 i. Principal Legislation..................................................................................................91 ii. Subsidiary Legislation..............................................................................................91 A. CASES .......................................................................................................................91 B. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND COMMENTS.............................................................................................92 C. JOURNAL ARTICLES...........................................................................................93 D. BOOKS .....................................................................................................................94 ii The Capacity of the State to Regulate Corporations in the Labour Sector iii The Capacity of the State to Regulate Corporations in the Labour Sector ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Report “The Capacity of the State to Regulate Corporations: An Analysis of Uganda’s Labour Policies, Legal and Institutional Framework within the Context of Business Activities” was prepared under the auspices of the Uganda Consortium on Corporate Accountability (UCCA), consisting of the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), the Public Interest Law Clinic of the School of Law, Makerere University (PILAC), Legal Brains Trust (LBT), Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), Twerwanaho Listeners Club (TLC), Karamoja Development Forum (KDF), the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiation Institute (SEATINI), the Centre for Economic Social and Cultural Rights in Africa (CESCRA), Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organisation (BIRUDO), Navigators for Development Association (NAVODA), Ecological Christian Organisation (ECO),World Voices Uganda (WVU), Rural Initiative for Community Empowerment West Nile(RICE WN), Teso Karamoja Women Initiative for Peace(TEKWIP), Action Aid International Uganda (AAU), International Accountability Project (IAP) and Lake Albert Children Women Advocacy Development Organization (LACWADO). The Consortium is hosted by ISER and Coordinated