Promotion of social protection coverage and decent work in the Agriculture, Tourism, and Hospitality sectors in the Albertine-Rwenzori region

In pursuit of addressing decent work deficits in Uganda, the ILO initiative, with support from the Belgian Development Agency – ENABEL, strives to improve poor working conditions and expand access to social protection services in the agriculture, tourism, and hospitality sectors of the Albertine-Rwenzori region. Uganda’s informal economy employs more than 90% of the working population, yet only 2.8% of Ugandans have access to at least one form of social protection. Women, particularly those working in the informal economy, remain disproportionately excluded—often juggling unpaid care work and informal jobs without access to maternity protection, pensions, or remedies in case of workplace injuries. The initiative addresses these structural challenges that hinder the realization of decent work and a better quality of life for workers. It focuses on creating and supporting decent work opportunities and extends social protection to workers, particularly in the informal economy, by promoting fundamental principles and rights at work, expanding social security coverage, and strengthening social dialogue. By promoting social dialogue, the initiative integrates a gender perspective through capacity building for women leaders in trade unions and women-led organizations, empowering them to advocate for workers' rights. The initiative also builds the capacity of district labour structures to ensure compliance with labour standards at all enterprise levels. It establishes a pool of resource persons to raise public awareness and promote the adoption of fundamental labour rights in agriculture, tourism, and hospitality enterprises. In collaboration with the Federation of Uganda Employers, graduate trainees placed in work-based learning programmes gain knowledge of workers' rights, including access to financial savings and social security schemes. The initiative partners with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to scale up awareness-raising and facilitate enrolment in social security products to protect workers from life-cycle risks. Furthermore, the initiative strengthens the capacity of the national labour productivity taskforce and the Labour Advisory Board to develop a position paper on labour productivity. This paper serves to facilitate policy dialogue and promote a deeper understanding of existing challenges and opportunities in developing appropriate legal frameworks.

Project symbol

UGA/24/02/BEL

Admin unit

CO-Dar es Salaam

Start date

02/05/2025

End date

01/05/2027

Total allocation

423608

Total expenditure

Status

Active

241023

Development Partners

Belgium, ENABEL

Country/Countries

Uganda

Outcomes

Outcome 2: Strong, representative and influential tripartite constituents and effective social dialogue
Outcome 7: Universal social protection