Mbarara – Workers’ representative in parliament Arinaitwe Rwakajara has called for unity among leaders of the National Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU).
NOTU has recently been embroiled in conflicts resulting from the removal of Usher Wilson Owere from office as Chairperson General of the Union on November 15th last year.
Owere was voted out for failing to manage three council meeting that had been organised to settle the emerging leadership issues in NOTU.
He, in return dragged NOTU and six new leaders to court for suspending him during a General Council session held in Kampala on November 15 2022.
The six he sued include: Christopher Peter Werikhe, Stephen Mugole, Richard Bigirwa, Mauku Moses (Ag Treasurer General), Badaru Barbara (Deputy Treasure General), and Amiti Tom (Deputy Secretary General).
The High Court Civil Division of Kampala, temporarily suspended all activities of the new leadership of the National Organization of Trade Union(NOTU) Leadership.
Justice Musa Ssekaana the Judge recently during case hearing, ordered the new NOTU leadership never to conduct any activity, until the case filled against them by Usher Wilson Owere the impeached Chairman General is disposed off.
Officiating at the opening ceremony of NOTU’s team building workshop in Mbarara on Monday, MP Rwakajara said the Union needs to work out modalities of getting united to resolve this impasse.
Rwakajara said it’s only through unity that the organization will be able to effectively protect and advance the interests of its members in the workplace.
He mentioned some of the challenges that call for NOTU’s intervention. “The biggest challenge is employers’ unwillingness to allow their workers to be organised, lack of political will to protect the workers against such employers and employers tactifuly outsourcing labour which is a tactic of exploiting workers,” said Rwakajara
The two-day workshop is being attended by Secretary Generals of the all unions afflicted to NOTU.
Musa Okello, the Ag Chairman General of NOTU said the training is aimed at coming up with a strategic plan for the organisation and the way forward.
He said, already some progress has been made towards achieving unity in the organisation.
“There’s progress in terms of working together because afew months ago you wouldn’t find us sitting like this but already we are getting back together and there’s a lot of hope that unity is going to prevail and we are working very hard to ensure that we get back as one house under the NOTU because that’s what the workers are waiting to see,” Okello told LBS during an interview.
NOTU is a non-profit labour organization established by Decree No. 29 of 1973. It represents millions of Ugandan workers and works with labour unions and community groups in all the districts of Uganda.
It is currently the most representative labour centre in Uganda with over 34 labour union affiliates.