As Uganda eagerly prepares to mark Labour Day on May 1st, excitement is thick in the air — or perhaps that’s just the lingering scent of unpaid overtime and broken promises.
Across the country, workers are dusting off their best secondhand clothes, sharpening their vuvuzelas, and preparing placards with classic slogans like “We Are Still Patient!” and “No Salary? No Problem!” It’s that special time of year when government officials will once again congratulate citizens for enduring economic hardship with resilience, creativity, and record-breaking blood pressure levels.
A Minimum Wage Still Stuck in the 80s
It is impossible to speak about labour in Uganda without mentioning the nation’s proud tradition of ignoring the Minimum Wage Bill of 2019. Parliament, in a rare show of unity, passed the bill in 2019 to ensure sector-specific minimum wages. However, President Museveni declined to sign it, reassuring workers that Uganda already had “enough laws” to protect them — specifically the 1957 Minimum Wages Advisory Boards and Wages Councils Act, last seriously updated when disco music was still in fashion.
As it stands today, Uganda’s official minimum wage remains at UGX 6,000 per month — set in 1984 and lovingly preserved through decades of inflation, economic turmoil, and speeches about “modernization.”
While the cost of living has ballooned astronomically (a rolex now costs 5,000 shillings on its own), policymakers insist that a minimum wage would “scare away investors,” especially those looking for affordable — that is, desperately cheap — labour.
In fact, officials have proposed a brilliant alternative: encouraging workers to focus on “mindset change” and “innovative hustling” rather than “complaining” about stagnant wages. After all, what’s a little economic slavery between patriotic citizens?
Working Conditions: Uganda’s Unofficial Gym Membership
Labour conditions in Uganda have also maintained their nostalgic charm.
Civil society organizations continue to document reports of:
- Workers without contracts (“trust-based employment”),
- Factories with non-existent ventilation (“natural air conditioning”),
- Domestic workers laboring 16 hours a day (“home-based resilience training”), and
- Nurses and teachers waiting months for their salaries (“patience development workshops”).
Despite the Employment Act of 2006 theoretically offering protections, enforcement remains largely ceremonial. Labour inspectors are said to visit only after a disaster — and even then, it’s just to “gather lessons for future disasters.”
Employees in manufacturing and service sectors work long shifts without overtime pay, social protection, or even proper breaks. But hey — on the bright side, walking ten kilometers to work every day in the sun surely counts as free vitamin D supplementation.
The upcoming Labour Day celebrations promise to be a grand affair. Reports suggest:
- Teachers will march proudly under the banner: “Still Waiting for That Pay Rise!”
- Medical workers will carry placards reading: “Healing the Nation, Starving Ourselves.”
- Boda-boda riders, the backbone of Uganda’s informal economy, will perform survival stunts in a show titled “Speed, Sweat and Struggle.”
The President is expected to deliver his annual Labour Day address, highlighting Uganda’s “tremendous achievements” in job creation — though some may notice the recycled nature of these promises from previous years.
Meanwhile, fireworks (imported from China) and music performances will provide colorful distractions from the less cheerful fact that over 70% of Uganda’s workforce remains employed informally, without legal protections, health insurance, or pension plans.
For added entertainment, rumours suggest the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development may unveil a new National Hustle Awards, recognizing individuals who have survived the longest on zero contracts and voluntary internships.
Labour Day 2025 comes at a time when:
- The Minimum Wage Bill is gathering dust in forgotten parliamentary drawers,
- The Employment Act awaits modernization to reflect realities like casualisation, telework, and digital labour,
- And workers are still being advised to stay hopeful, entrepreneurial, and “patient” while leaders negotiate endlessly on their behalf.
The official theme this year is “Building a Resilient Workforce: Stronger in Spirit, Weaker in Salary” — a perfect tribute to Uganda’s unique economic model where survival, not prosperity, is the true national achievement.
As the country prepares to clap for itself once more, the real question remains:
How much longer can Ugandan workers celebrate promises rather than progress?
No matter — come May 1st, the band will play, the speeches will roll, and the labourers of Uganda will march proudly — not for better pay, but for the sheer, undefeated endurance it takes to keep working without one.
The writer, Moses Wawah Onapa is a senior educationist and social commentator
Moses4christ2012@gmail.com