The Employment Act, Labour Unions Act, Labour Dispute Arbitration and Settlement) Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act are some of the laws impeding the work of the Industrial Court, according to the Acting Registrar of the court, Sylvia Nabaggala.
Appearing before parliament, Nabaggala listed a plethora of complaints that are hindering the court’s performance.
She called for the review of the laws to help distinguish industrial labour disputes from those of individual employment. Nabaggala says the two laws have been conflated and it requires more than one judge to settle any matter in the court.
The acting registrar also decried the lack of obligation upon labour officers by the laws to capture information and a lack of statistics of cases handled by the officers. She also complained about the limited scope of the court’s powers such as the inability to punish a stubborn witness.