Platform for Labour Action (PLA) is a National Civil Society Organization that was founded in the year 2000. PLA is focused on promoting and protecting the rights of vulnerable and marginalized workers through empowerment of communities and individuals in Uganda.
Lives impacted
years of service
Domestic work is one of the oldest occupations for women in world history. It has links to slavery and various forms of servitude, including colonialism. It is an unregulated and undervalued activity because, in most of the countries, labour laws are not applicable to the domestic workers.
In a new convention adopted by ILO in June 2011 (c189), domestic work is defined as the “work performed in or for a household or households”. Domestic work is different from the care work performed by members of a household as part of a family responsibility and without creating an employment relationship.
Domestic work includes (in a household or households)
Given the fact that there is no minimum wage for domestic workers in Uganda, employers are responsible for setting a certain wage. This implies that the power to set a certain wage for a domestic worker depends on the bargaining power of the worker. The minimum wage in Uganda was set in 1984 and has not been revised since then. Domestic workers are usually paid between shs4,000 (US$ 1.78) and shs10,000 (US$ 4.44) per month. From these figures it is clear that the current situation suggests that these workers are being exploited. As an employer you are not meant to exploit domestic workers. Therefore, a reasonable wage should be agreed at the start to avoid cases of exploitation.
In Uganda, these are the people who work in gardens (gardener), an individual who looks after children or works as an (indoor) maid or houseboy.
