Covid-19: Amongi rallies world to recover lost jobs 

The Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ms Betty Amongi, has called for joint domestic and global efforts to recover jobs that were lost at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While addressing the ongoing 110th Session of the International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday, Ms Amongi appealed for closer collaboration between the global economies in pursuit of polices for recovery of jobs and creation of new ones.

“Jobs do not just happen. Given the interconnectedness of our economies, the path to recovery of growth with jobs calls for both domestic and global efforts. This must be done through implementing the decent work agenda in the recovery plans,” she said. 
The call followed the ILO director general’s report which indicated that about 112 million fulltime jobs which were lost during the pandemic are yet to be recovered.
“I am glad that the report invites developed countries to be placed at the centre of the reconstruction and recovery agenda, an integrated structural transformation strategy that prioritises reduction of inequality in Least Developed Countries,” Ms Amongi said.

She added: “Global efforts for employment creation should recall that the one-size-fits-all approach has failed in the past. We, therefore, call for partnerships and respect of individual country’s ownership in designing recovery plans.”
The Minister, however, said the Russia-Ukraine war is undermining the global reconstruction and recovery agenda, disrupting economic activity and also causing job losses. 
“We appeal for a speedy and peaceful resolution of the conflict within the framework of a global consensus because the continuous fighting in Ukraine  will  not affect Ukraine only but the whole world,” she said.
She enumerated some of the measures the government of Uganda has undertaken to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 and stimulate job creation, including a cash transfer scheme for households that lost employment income due to Covid-19, promotion of apprenticeship programmes, and support to the private sector through provision of low interest stimulus credit.

“Other measures are women specific credit and financial support under the World Bank grant for women business worth $250m (Shs931b), low interest agricultural credit support to rural communities, and amendment to allow partial withdrawal of funds by members from their social security retirement funds to help them mitigate the impact of Covid-19,” she said 
Ms Amongi observed that Uganda welcomes the discussion on social and solidarity economy, which seeks to prioritise simultaneously social and financial profitability as well as the inclusion of safe and healthy working conditions in the ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work.

“Uganda appreciates focus on lifelong learning and skilling and supports the efforts towards setting standards of quality apprenticeships, addressing informality and gender inequality issues in the world of work.” She said.
The minister congratulated the outgoing ILO director general, Mr Guy Ryder, for his distinguished service since 2012. 
The next director-general will be Mr Gilbert F. Houngbo from Togo. He will also become the first African to hold the position.
Issue
Statistics from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development released in 2021 show that at least a million workers were either terminated or forced to stay home for an extended period due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown, with official figures showing that at least 17 percent of employers were forced to lay off workers.
Jobs for at 998,665 workers were either terminated or temporarily suspended due to the Covid-19 lockdown.