But as the debate on jobs, or rather the lack of enough of them for young Ugandans, rages on, we need to look at the quality, remuneration, security and productivity of the available jobs, and what this means for the future. There are several job market distortions currently experienced because of growth in digital capitalism and technology.
It is, therefore, critical for businesses, government and the youths to anticipate and prepare for future skills requirements, job content and quality of employment to mitigate undesirable outcomes but fully seize the opportunities presented by these trends. Today, many consumers delight in using phone apps to get a cheap taxi or delivering groceries to their door.
They order for clothes, electronics and other supplies online and relish the convenience, cheapness and flexibility. On the other end, the provider is not Maama Naaka, a vegetable vendor in Nakasero market or Ashraf, a butcher in Kalerwe. The providers of these services are foreign-owned multi-million-dollar companies, uptown restaurants, supermarkets, clothing stores and telecom providers.
Whereas the providers of these services have provided convenience for the consumers, they are also largely responsible for massive labour substitution and displacement of real jobs. Resultantly, we have a world of disempowered workers who offer labour, on contracts offered by online providers of on-demand services.
Sadly, for Uganda, many who are regarded as employed are doing these kinds of jobs; these short-term contracts known as gigs. These companies know that they profit more by not offering full-time, real employment.
The gigs reduce their wage bill by almost half, the contracts are drawn to their favour and payments are according to the realization of set targets. They also don’t have to make social security contributions for the workers. On the other hand, as economist Will Hutton noted, gig work adversely discourages workers.
It bids down wages, makes working lives episodic and displaces risk onto ordinary people because it does not come with pensions, sick pay or parental leave. The contracts are easy to abuse and the worker can’t borrow against his pay.
We risk waking up in 2050, to a generation of retired professionals without professional careers and those who have worked for decades but retired homeless and hungry because they had no savings off their commission for each gig.
Our social security sector risks seeing the contributions diminish since our working generation earns a commission, and not wages, from which such contributions can be reduced. We, therefore, need to enact policies that lift the unemployed and gig workers into employment while raising relative wages for the lowest paid.
Above all, we need to increase quality investment in human capital to improve skills and productivity of our workers, making them fit for real employment.
We also need to develop social security programs for young people who are informally employed, if not for anything, but because they could be a bigger problem in the future when they are less productive and yet more demanding of services such as health care. The youths must also be encouraged to make a modest contribution to these programs.
The writer is a physical planner
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