UNRA, workers union strike deal on 800 sacked staff

Uganda National Roads Authority executive director Allen Kagina (C) tours the works on the Entebbe Expressway recently. PHOTO BY Abubaker Lubowa

Kampala.

The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) executive director, Ms Allen Kagina, has struck a compromise with trade unionists over the fate of more than 800 employees who were last week dismissed en-masse, in the ongoing restructuring.

Officials from the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU) a labour umbrella union for employees in the transport sector, last week met Ms Kagina and agreed to allow the sacked employees keep in their positions until the new recruitment commences.

Last Thursday meeting at the Kampala Serena Hotel also agreed that, “the current staff with a clean record are given priority in the new staff structure,” according to information availed to Daily Monitor.

Sources said “for purposes of fairness”, the employees will periodically be updated on the restructuring exercise.
The meeting was attended by the chairperson finance and administration committee on the UNRA board, Mr Kasingye Kyamugambi, UNRA’s acting legal counsel William Tumwine and the body’s external legal adviser Moses Segawa

The meeting also agreed that there will be a three-month transition period effective October 1 to December 31, during which time interviews will be conducted to fill positions in the new structure “based on merit competence and integrity”.

The National Union of Trade Unions [Notu] chairman, Mr Usher Owere, confirmed the meeting and said they also agreed that both ATGWU and UNRA will keep in constant engagement to ensure harmony in the process.

“In order to maintain industrial harmony during the transition period, the union appeals to workers to remain calm,” Mr Owere said.
Ms Kagina was not readily available for comment.