A CASE FOR RATIFICATION OF CONVENTIONS ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (OSH) IN UGANDA By: Eva Katusabe, OSH department, MGLSD

?1. Background

The ILO, since its inception in 1919, has passed 119 Conventions, 206 Recommendations and 6 Protocols, with nearly half of all these instruments dealing directly or indirectly with Occupational Safety and Health issues. Uganda as one of the 187 ILO Member States and MGLSD as the Ministry in charge of Labour, Employment and Occupational Safety and Health, has the mandate to domesticate these requirements which calls for ratification, adoption and implementation of the applicable ILO Conventions, more so those related to Occupational Safety and Health, which is a fundamental principle and right at work. Todate, Uganda has ratified 32 ILO conventions, eight of which are Core Conventions, leaving two of the ten labour Conventions yet unratified.

Ratification is the process of “acceptance" or "approval" by a government or state party of a specific international law thus consenting to be bound by that international law- be it a Convention, Treaty or Agreement. Article 123(2) of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution as amended in 2005, provides for Parliament to make laws to govern ratification of treaties, conventions, agreements or other international arrangements.

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2. Justification

In order for Uganda to progressively promote a national preventative safety and healthy culture and to improve its National Occupational Safety and Health Management system as part of the decent work agenda; and also recognizing the need to protect its workers against sickness, disease and injuries arising out of the employment thus promoting the quality of working life and enhancing productivity, competitiveness, economic and social development, it is important that the three selected key Conventions on OSH are ratified.

Due to the magnitude of the need at hand, ratification of the pending ILO Conventions in Uganda may be phased, beginning with the priority Conventions on OSH i.e. The Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187); Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and its Protocol of 2002?as well as the Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161).?

The Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) provides for coherent and systematic treatment of occupational safety and health issues; promotes recognition of existing Conventions on occupational safety and health; establishes and implements coherent national OSH policies through dialogue between social partners and promotes a national preventive safety and health culture.

The Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and its 2002 Protocol?provides for adoption of a coherent national OSH policy; action to be taken by government and enterprises to promote OSH and to improve working conditions; establishment, periodic review and publication in relation to recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases.

The Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161) provides for the establishment of enterprise-level occupational health services for preventive and advisory functions for maintaining a safe and healthy working environment.

The legal and institutional structures that support implementation of these conventions are already in place and although not yet ratified, these conventions are largely being implemented in various sectors in Uganda. For example, Uganda already meets most requirements under C155 through the development of a draft National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health embedded in the Draft Employment Policy, existence of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a national system and inspectorate for Occupational Safety and Health albeit in need of strengthening, a National Occupational Safety and Health management system based on a very outdated National Safety and Health Profile of 2014 that is long overdue for review.

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3. The Process of ratification

According to the Ratification of Treaties Act (RTA) of Uganda, a “treaty” is defined to include a convention, agreement or other arrangement made under Article 123 of Uganda’s Constitution on “Execution of treaties, conventions and agreements”.

The RTA provides two options for ratification of treaties as follows:

(a) by the Cabinet

(b) by Parliament by resolution:

? where the treaty relates to armistice, neutrality or peace;

? In the case of a treaty in respect of which the Attorney General has certified in writing that its implementation in Uganda would require an amendment of the Constitution.

According to the RTA all treaties ratified by Cabinet should be laid before Parliament as soon as possible and in Uganda, the Minister of Foreign Affairs acts as the national depository. The instrument of ratification must then be deposited with the ILO Director-General.

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Option 1: Cabinet Ratification:

1. Inter‐ministerial consultations - The inter‐ministerial committee meets to evaluate the benefits and obligations that would arise from Uganda’s membership of the treaty and may recommend its ratification.

2. On receipt of the recommendations of the Inter‐Ministerial Committee, the responsible Cabinet Minister prepares a Cabinet Memo and presents it in cabinet seeking authorization to ratify the treaty.

3. Attach clearance from the Attorney General.

4. Attach a certificate of financial implication from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

5. Attach evidence of stakeholder consultation

6. After consideration of the cabinet memorandum Cabinet may instruct the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ratify / accede to the treaty on behalf of the Republic of Uganda. Cabinet instructs through a cabinet minute.

7. Upon receipt of the instruction (Extract of the Cabinet Minute) from Cabinet, the Minister of Foreign Affairs proceeds to draft, sign and deposit the Instrument of ratification/accession / acceptance with the designated Depositary thereof

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Option 2: Ratification by Parliament

1. Inter‐ministerial consultations -The inter‐ministerial committee meets to evaluate the benefits and obligations that would arise from Uganda’s membership of the treaty and may recommend its ratification.

2. On receipt of the recommendation of the Inter‐Ministerial Committee, the responsible Cabinet Minister tables a motion and presents it on the floor of Parliament seeking authorization to ratify the treaty.

3. Attach clearance from the Attorney General/ Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs

4. Attach a certificate of financial implication.

5. Attach evidence of stakeholder consultation.

6. Parliament considers the motion and may even recommend it to the sector committee for further studying. After consideration of the motion, Parliament may instruct the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ratify/ accede to the said treaty on behalf of the Republic of Uganda. Parliament instructs by a resolution of parliament.

7. Upon receipt of the instruction (Resolution) from Parliament, the Minister of Foreign Affairs proceeds to draft, sign and deposit or exchange the instrument of ratification/ accession with the designated Depositary thereof

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Summary of the Ratification Process in Uganda

No.

ACTIVITY

RESPONSIBLE MDA

1.

The Line Ministry reads and internalizes the contents of the treaty.

Line Ministry

2

The Line Ministry then constitutes an inter-ministerial committee to discuss the Treaty.

Line Ministry

3

The inter-ministerial committee meets to evaluate the benefits and obligations that would arise from Uganda’s member ship of the treaty.

·?????? Line Ministry

·?????? MJ&CA,

·?????? MFPED

·?????? MoFA

·?????? Other relevant MDAs

4

The line Ministry leads the inter-ministerial committee to conduct stakeholder consultations to ascertain their comments on the benefits of the Treaty in question.

Inter-Ministerial Committee

5

The inter-ministerial committee compiles stakeholders’ recommendations for ratification of the Treaty.

Inter-ministerial committee

6

The line Ministry secures two important clearances.

·?????? Clearance from the Attorney General, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MJ&CA) to ratify the Treaty

·?????? Clearance from Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED) to obtain a Certificate of Financial Implication

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·?????? Line Ministry

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·?????? MJ&CA

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·?????? MFPED

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7

On receipt of the recommendations from the inter-ministerial committee, the responsible Cabinet Minister drafts a Cabinet Memo to be presented to Cabinet seeking for authorization to ratify the treaty. Attach clearance letter from the Attorney General and Certificate of Financial implication as well as evidence of stakeholder consultations.

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·?????? Line Ministry

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·?????? Cabinet Secretariat

8

After consideration of the cabinet memorandum, Cabinet may instruct the Minister of Foreign Affairs through a Cabinet Minute to ratify the said treaty on behalf of the Republic of Uganda

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Cabinet Secretariat

9

Upon receipt of the instruction (Cabinet Extract of the Cabinet Minute), the Minister of Foreign Affairs proceeds to draft, sign and deposit the relevant instrument with the national depositary.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)

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4.? ??? Benefits of ratification

1.?????? It gives an opportunity for review of national legislation to harmonise them at national and international level, giving government a clear OSH framework through the national policy, systems and programmes.

2.?????? It places Occupational Health and Safety high on the national agenda, which raises the country’s status globally, improve the national image and better positioning internationally, among fellow ILO member states.

3.?????? Eases tracking of products coming from Uganda thus increased acceptability on the international market and subsequently increased foreign exchange, accelerating national development and achievement of Vision 2040.

4.?????? Improved competitiveness for Uganda and possibility of more and better markets, including to those countries that have policies against buying produce from unknown origin, with improved working conditions, better products, better production, larger markets, more revenue.

5.?????? Increased commitment to international OSH standards which in turn would improve productivity of the work force in the country, improved business competitiveness, better work environment and staff motivation.

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5.? ??? Conclusion

Ratification of these conventions should be an easy process and given the immense benefits, not to mention the need for Uganda as a member of the governing council of ILO to be compliant with ILO standards, it is therefore pertinent that the due process is embarked upon. These conventions will not raise any contradictions with other laws in Uganda and will actually harmonise implementation of various existing laws that are being implemented under different Government MDAs. It is therefore necessary for the tripartite social partners to come together and agree upon the roadmap for ratification and adaptation of these ILO Conventions, with priority given to those on Occupational Safety and Health that is; Convention C187, C155 and C161 and related instruments.

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