International Trade Union Confederation

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Freedom of association

Anti-Union discrimination

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration

Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom

The Registrar may interdict or suspend an officer or person acting as an officer of a labour union, where the Registrar is satisfied that the officer or person has been convicted by a court of law or is being investigated with a view to prosecution for the misuse etc of union funds or wilful or persistent failure to comply with directions properly given by the Registrar under the Labour Unions Act (section 23, Labour Unions Act). Section 31(1) requires that trade union officers (other than the Secretary General and treasurer) have been and still are engaged or employed in an industry or occupation with which the union is directly concerned. Section 33 empowers the Registrar to call or direct the calling of an organization’s general annual meeting, and give ancillary or consequential directions in relation to the calling, holding or conduct of the meeting. Section 51 provides that the Registrar may inspect the books of accounts and the list of members of a registered labour union at any reasonable time. Section 53 further provides that the Registrar may require that detailed accounts be rendered, if the Registrar has reasonable cause to suspect an irregularity.

Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office

Other civil servants and public employees

The Prisons Act 1958 prohibits any member of the Uganda Prison Service from being a member of or attending any meeting of a trade union or other association the object of which is to control or influence salaries, wages, pensions or conditions of service (section 19, Prisons Act 1958).

Barriers to the establishment of organisations

Other formalities or requirements which excessively delay or substantially impair the free establishment of organisations

Section 18 of the Labour Unions Act stipulates that the process of registration of a labour union shall be within 90 days from the date of submission of an application.

Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations

The Registrar shall cancel a labour union's registration if satisfied that any of the union's principal objects or constitution has become unlawful, or the union has wilfully, and after notice from the Registrar, contravened any provision of the Labour Unions Act (section 20, Labour Unions Act). The Labour Unions Act does not indicate what constitutes an unlawful object for a labour union.

Non-national or migrant workers

An alien shall not be a member of the executive committee of a trade union (section 76, Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act).

Right to collective bargaining

Right to collective bargaining

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining

Prohibition or limitation of collective bargaining at a certain level (local, regional, territorial, national; enterprise, industry, sector or general)

Under section 7 of the Labour Unions Act No. 7 of 2006, trade union federations do not have the right to engage in collective bargaining.

Compulsory conciliation and / or binding arbitration procedure in the event of disputes during collective bargaining, other than in essential services

Any party to an existing or apprehended labour dispute may report the dispute to a Labour Officer. If the dispute is not resolved by conciliation or on the terms of settlement proposed by the Labour Officer within 4 weeks of being reported, the dispute shall be referred to the Industrial Court at the request of any party to the dispute, subject to any agreed dispute settlement procedures. The Industrial Court shall arbitrate on the labour dispute without undue delay (sections 3-8, Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act).

Right to strike

Right to strike

Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike

Authorities’ or employers’’’ power to unilaterally prohibit, limit, suspend or cease a strike action

Strike or other industrial action may be declared unlawful for a period of up to 3 weeks where a Labour Officer seeks to settle a labour dispute by conciliation (section 28(5), Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act). A Labour Officer may seek to settle a dispute by conciliation at the request of any party to the dispute (section 5, Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act).

Authorities’ or employers’ power to prevent or end a strike by referring the dispute to arbitration

Strike or other industrial action may be declared unlawful for a period of up to 3 weeks where a Labour Officer or the Minister refers the dispute to the Industrial Court for arbitration. A Labour Officer shall refer a dispute to the Industrial Court at the request of any party to the dispute, or where the Labour Officer is of the view that a valid collective agreement settles the matter in dispute. The Minister may refer a dispute to the Industrial Court where one or more parties to a dispute do not comply with the recommendations of a board of inquiry appointed by the Minister (sections 5, 27 and 28, Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act).

Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors

Discretionary determination or excessively long list of "essential services" in which the right to strike is prohibited or severely restricted

The civil aviation service is regarded as an essential service. Although strike action is not prohibited by law workers engaged in essential services, between 14 and 22 days' notice of intended participation in the strike action must be given either individually or collectively (if represented by a labour union of which they are members). The Minister may render the notice of intended participation invalid by referring the dispute to the Industrial Court within 14 days (section 34 and Schedule 2, Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act).

Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness

Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike actions

Counselling or procuring a strike or other industrial action where the matter in dispute is the subject of a valid award of the Industrial Court, or the Labour Officer has declared any industrial action unlawful, is an offence punishable by a fine of 480,000 shillings, or imprisonment for a term of up to 1 year (section 29, Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act). In addition, organizers of public meetings, who fail to comply with the requirements imposed by the Public Order Management Act 2013 commit an act of disobedience of statutory duty which is punishable under the Penal Code with imprisonment. These requirements include stringent time frames for giving notice of the meetings and time limits during which public meetings can take place.

Barriers to lawful strike actions

Compulsory recourse to arbitration, or to long and complex conciliation and mediation procedures prior to strike actions

Any party to an existing or apprehended labour dispute may report the dispute to a Labour Officer. If the dispute is not resolved by conciliation or on the terms of settlement proposed by the Labour Officer within 4 weeks of being reported, the dispute shall be referred to the Industrial Court at the request of any party to the dispute, subject to any agreed dispute settlement procedures. The Industrial Court shall arbitrate on the labour dispute without undue delay (sections 3-8, Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act).

Absence of an independent body responsible for declaring whether a strike is legal or not

The Government has the power to declare a strike illegal under section 29(2) of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act.