Here is how we can Protect the few Remaining Jobs Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic

By Nathan Were

Every year, Uganda joins the rest of the World to celebrate Labour Day on the 1^st of May. This day has a unique history dating back to 1st May 1886 when labor unions in the United States of America decided to go on a strike. They demanded that workers should not be allowed to work more than 8 hours a day. The strike was followed by a bomb blast in Chicago’s Haymarket Square on the 4th of May. The incident, also popularly known as “Haymarket Affair” made May 1, become one of the significant dates in history and was earmarked to celebrate and honour the contribution of working men and women.

This year’s Labour is unique as it is being celebrated in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic that has not only destroyed livelihoods but also scattered millions of jobs around the World. The International Labour Organization (ILO) Monitor titled: Covid-19 and the World of Work has described the coronavirus pandemic as “the worst global crisis since World War II”. Worldwide, two billion people working in the informal sector (mostly in emerging and developing economies) have been threatened and are at the greatest risk of losing their source of livelihood. The report further adds that the pandemic is poised to wipe out 6.7 percent of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year, the equivalent of 195 million jobs worldwide.

In Uganda, the measures to curb the further spread of the virus have left thousands jobless, compensations cut, and benefits withdrawn, with the greatest impact felt in the tourism, services, informal and entertainment sectors. As the country awaits the next wave of the pandemic, measures are needed to protect the few remaining jobs, revive the private sector, and restore livelihoods of those in the informal sector, an area that employs majority of workers. Here are two key areas that require urgent government attention.

Stimulus package for the micro and small enterprises: Micro and Small enterprises are a major source of employment in urban areas, absorbing large numbers of school leavers, migrants from rural areas, and others who cannot find employment within the formal sector. The informal sector has potential to continue generating more jobs and a stimulus package that could help restore lost working capital could go a long way in helping these enterprises bounce back in business.  Most of these enterprises are either closed or operating at half capacity following the prolonged effects of lock-down. The package to these enterprises can be administered through microfinance institutions and local banks that already have experience lending to them. Government can set-up an interest free, revolving fund managed by these banks and accessible by these businesses. In addition, a technical advisory team can be set-up as part of the fund to provide business advisory services that could enable these enterprises re-work their bounce back strategies.

A move towards a digitally savvy workforce: The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation pushing every sector into leveraging technology to deliver products and services. We do not expect that even as the pandemic fizzles out, the world will go back to business as usual [manual, less automated] practices pre-pandemic. Infact, micro-soft – a global technology and software company- projects that most countries are poised to become digital economies with employees, consumers relying on “remote everything” and digitization of countries moving at a faster pace.

As countries move into recovery, the level of automation based on new technologies is likely to grow and it is estimated that over the next five years, the global workforce could absorb 149 million new technology oriented jobs with skills in areas of data analysis, cyber security, and privacy protection highly demanded.

Uganda, like other countries will need place focus on its micro and small – medium enterprises while quickly putting in place measures to re-skill the current workforce and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow, for advancement in technology could further render thousands jobless.

Nathan Were is an Access to Finance Specialist based in Nairobi.

were.nathan@gmail.com