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"speaker_name": "[Mr. Bahari]",
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"legal_name": "Abdul Bahari Ali Jillo",
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"content": "Court will go through the agreement and ensure that it is consistent, among other things, with the law, also taking into account the economic considerations, and seeing whether that agreement will bring down that firm, or whether it works to the disadvantage of the employees. That kind of input from the Industrial Court is very crucial, and I think that definition needs to be looked at. Also, Clause 43(1) reads as follows:- \"The Minister shall appoint a Registrar of Trade Unions, who shall be responsible for the registration and regulation of trade unions, employer organisations and federations registered under the Labour Relations Act.\" Currently, trade unions are registered with the Attorney-General's Chamber by the Registrar-General. If now it is going to come under the Minister, other than, of course, the other issues of independence that hon. Wetungula raised, so what happens to the Registrar of Societies who has been registering the trade unions? If I register with the Registrar-General and I have not 1474 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 17, 2007 registered with the Ministry after this law is put into effect, then there will be a conflict. This issue needs to be sorted out once and for all. For purposes of independence, perhaps, it may be right if the issue of registration is handled by a different Ministry, so that there is that independence of the Registrar. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is also the issue of the National Labour Board and its representation. I am aware that hon. Wetangula said that the organization that is going to constitute that Board must be representative, but that is not enough. We have seen instances where Ministers have gone out of their way to choose, even from those organizations, whom they are going to deal with. There was a classic example of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), where the Minister chose the person who was not proposed by the organization. He decided to pick a person of his choice from that organization. This must be the person proposed, appointed or recommended by the organization. The Minister should not pick any other person of his choice, to just ensure some compliance, which is not necessarily for the good of the State, but some individual good. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am aware that one of the hon. Members raised the issue of expatriates and the likes. Some of us are wondering what the relevance of that is. But I would like to say that the Ministry of Labour sits on that committee that approves work permits at the Immigrations Department. When you are given an under-study - some of us have been there and we know what happens - after sometime that under-study is not there, and nobody tries to enforce it and, therefore, that particular fellow's work permit is renewed over and over. It is true that some of them have got some minor diplomats from some minor organizations in their own countries. Those kinds of experts are found in this country. As much as, perhaps, the expatriates may be allowed to come into this country, this Ministry must play its rightful role, the way it should. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, perhaps, we need more clarification as to why the Ministry wants to regulate employment agencies. I am aware that there are instances, perhaps, where some crooks have come into play and they have misbehaved. We can see it happening in financial institutions and employment. Every now and then, they are there. But I do not know whether we should allow the Ministry to come in so strongly to try and regulate this. But we will leave it open at the Committee Stage, for hon. Members to discuss and make proper recommendations. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of labour laws is a very sensitive matter, because it is about employment. It is a tricky issue, which can affect everybody in terms of productivity in this country. I am not quite sure, from my experiences, whether all lawyers or magistrates, for that matter, are well-versed and properly skilled when it comes to the issue of labour laws. Some special training and consideration needs to be put in place, before we let any magistrate to handle the issue. Otherwise, then we have to go to the issue of curriculum, to make sure that labour issues--- I must confess that I participated in industrial court matters for a long time, before I was elected to Parliament. Not any lawyer can handle labour issues; some of them are quiet at seas! So, this issue must be handled with a lot of care. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to add that, certainly--- I do not want to be very controversial, but I must make my point on this issue. When we say that this Bill will not occasion additional costs or expenditure, the courts are already overburdened and we are going to add more at that lower level. I am not quite sure that, in terms of time, there will not be an additional cost. I would rather go the way of, perhaps, expanding the National Labour Court so that it will be able to handle more cases so that we do not have cases, delaying at the lower level. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, of late, we have noted with a lot of concern that, perhaps, a lot of issues have been referred to the Industrial Court in a hurry; at midnight and the May 17, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1475 like by the Minister. It is very, very important that the Minister and his team take the initiative and negotiate. Negotiations are difficult matters and we should not take ease in referring matters to the Industrial Court, because it creates resentment among workers in this country. Therefore, the Minister and his team should be able to do more and take a lot of preventive measures by way of training or encouraging employers to train their employees on matters of industrial relations. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}