ABSTRACT
The focus of this chapter is on the regulatory and operational challenges in the empowerment of the poor in the informal economy based on research undertaken by the Platform for Labour Action – a civil society organisation1 that works on issues of social injustice among adult domestic workers and on risks and vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS in the informal sector in Uganda. The chapter will further explore the strategies for collectively organising informal workers based on the current initiatives in the country. I will further examine how workers within the informal economy can be better protected by new legislation in Uganda without impeding the country’s economic growth and business competitiveness. I will therefore cover issues such as implementation and applicability of existing legislation and its enforcement, together with challenges related to minimum wage, privacy, work hours and working conditions, including the relationship between occupational safety, health and freedom of association. Specific case studies on child labour and adult domestic workers will be used as well as information gathered from other informal sector groups such as food and non-food sellers, service providers, soft and hard manufacturers. In this chapter, ‘food sellers’ refers to women and men selling raw, cooked, semi-processed or fully processed foods within the markets and outside markets, on verandas of shops and markets and on the street. ‘Non food sellers’ refers to those who sell commodities such as cloth, soap, paraffin, matches, crockery, bags, books and pens, whether in shops or as mobile hawkers. By ‘service providers’, I mean tailors, touts, barbers, porters, taxi operators and motorcyclists ferrying people. The category ‘soft manufacturers’ refers to bicycle and garage repair shops, craftsmen, weavers, potters and carpenters while ‘hard manufacturers’ include hardware welders and those making gates, coffins,
furniture and other metal works. These are some of the visible forms of work in the informal economy in Uganda.
