By Benard Mujuni
Uganda, according to UBOS Uganda Demographic Household Survey 2018, has over 12.6 million workers in the informal sector. 60% of these are the working poor, who never save a penny but for their livelihoods thus have no fall back in case of trouble. These are the dependent workers we are talking about. Without giving them shelter, dinner, lunch, breakfast and some medical support, the domestic workers will fail to work for you or demand what a banker teller earns, making labour a major cog in economic and social development. Labour if not well handled, could disfranchise young people from participating in the economy, for which, they believe they belong.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached more than 60.8 million as of 13 Dec 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The pandemic is straining and stretching health and social care systems, widening socio-economic divides and changing priorities for countries. In the short term, these dynamics challenge the equitable and effective distribution of health care and human rights protection of healthcare workers, restrict mobility, deepen inequalities and shift the priorities of public and private sector institutions, including the allocation of funding.
Equitable allocation of resources is not only a preserve of government but rather to any global or local citizen of this world. At household level, priorities during Covid-19 Pandemic change. The domestic care worker, where Government has placed most of these patients do not earn a minimum wage, are not insured, and belong to no particular social protection schemes. The women caregivers, who have not been recognized for unpaid labour will be further exposed to COVID-19 risks without any medical experience or cover. This appears more like a rat-trap, on a one way hole! Catch me if you can and say “Amen”!
Particularly in Uganda, women, girls, people with disabilities are disproportionately affected. Emphasis being those who experience discrimination on the basis of income, age, race, geographic location, migration status, disability, sexual orientation and health status.
Unpaid care and domestic work sustains families and communities on a day-to-day basis and from one generation to the next and makes a significant contribution to economic development by nurturing people who are fit, productive and capable of learning and creativity. Yet, it remains invisible, undervalued and neglected in economic and social policymaking, and its distribution is grossly imbalanced. Now with COVID-19 burden, it is a “double edged poisoned arrow”.
Payment disparities
Globally, women do three times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men. The rising demand for care in the context of the COVID-19 crisis and response will likely deepen already existing inequalities in the gender division of labour, placing a disproportionate burden on women and girls. So far, attention has rightly focused on the health system and women’s over-representation among paid health-care workers.
The vast amount of unpaid and poorly paid care and domestic work that women have always done in homes and communities serves as the backbone of the COVID-19 response. Emerging evidence from UN Women’s rapid assessment surveys in Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and the Philippines shows that unpaid care and domestic work has increased among both women and men, with women being responsible for fewer but more time-consuming tasks than men, such as cleaning, cooking and physical care for children.
Companies Rise or Fall on How Well They Renew Their LeadersIn Uganda, women already work longer hours than men when both unpaid care and paid market work are combined. We all saw how women slept in the markets during the lockdown with their children in mosquito nets. When crises put stress on households and public services, women often make up for goods that their families can no longer afford to buy in the market and for public services that are no longer available by increasing time spent on unpaid care and domestic work.
Vulnerable individuals such as the working poor, the PWDs shoulder the bulk of unpaid care whereas the COVID-19 crisis response has largely focused on larger economy picture syndrome such as banking and finance. Significant attention to social resilience, risk and shock mitigation and social protection should be undertaken.
This work is particularly time-consuming and cumbersome for women in low-income contexts where housing is crowded and often unsafe, basic infrastructure such as running water and electricity is lacking and formal health systems are already overburdened.
The immediate response to COVID-19 must be centered on curbing the spread of the virus and addressing urgent community and family needs. At the same time, the pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the critical need for structural and transformative change that includes building comprehensive care and social protection systems accompanied by supportive macroeconomic policy reforms (see the UN Women Policy Brief, “The Economic Fallout of COVID-19”).
These changes must prioritize the reduction of socio-economic inequalities in access to and provision of care within families and communities and also within and between countries. There is need for recognizing care workers—paid and unpaid—as essential workers and ensure their safety at home which has become the work place. Care workers perform essential labour.
Uganda needs to invest in expanding social protection for those with care responsibilities. Social protection plays an important role in responding to the increased demand for unpaid care. For non-essential workers with care responsibilities, flexible working arrangements and reductions in working time are critical to reduce double burdens and maintain an adequate standard of living.
Benard Mujuni is a Legal and Policy specialist focusing on Social Capital.
benardmujuni@gmail.com
