Child Labour

NAME:

REG. NO:

COURSE:

COURSE UNIT:

YEAR: II SEMISTER: II

LECTURER:

QUESTION:

Muwanga a 15 year old boy having lost both of his parents in a car accident was employed by Uganda mortors ltd. He earns shs. 300,000 per month.

a) As a labour union expert, what technical advice can you give to the Uganda Mortors on the employing their hard working Muwanga?

b) What are the consequences of such kind of employment?

c) Briefly explain the measures that can be put in place to stop companies like Uganda Mortors ltd from employing young people?

Question 1 (a)

Uganda Mortors limited is dealing with the issue of child labour according to the laws of Uganda. Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries. Child labour was utilized to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the advent of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during the industrial revolution, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers' and children's rights.

This means Uganda mortors have to let go of Muwanga or they have to take him for some form of training up to the time when he is 18 years old after which they can employ him fully in their company.

Uganda’s 1995 Constitution (Article 34) defines a child as a person under 16 years of age, and states that children have the right to be protected from social and economic exploitation. The Constitution further states that children should not be employed in work that is “likely to be hazardous,” or work that would otherwise endanger their health, their physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development, or that would interfere with their education.

The Employment Decree No. 4 of 1975, makes it unlawful to employ a child below 12 years of age, except for light work as prescribed by the Minister of Labor by...