Gulu City Council pushes for casual workers’ cooperative

GULU CITY, November 20, 2025 — Gulu City Council has approved an ordinance to recognise, protect and support casual and domestic workers, a move that will enable the formation of a cooperative society for labourers engaged in hard and informal work.

Casual workers covered under the ordinance include market vendors, shop attendants, warehouse loaders, construction site helpers, cleaners, waste collectors, porters, motorcycle riders and hotel workers among others.

On the other hand, domestic workers include nannies, housekeepers, childcare providers, cooks, gardeners, caregivers to the elderly and sick, and private drivers.

Christine Angeyo Olok, the Councillor representing workers at Gulu City Council, who tabled the motion during a full council meeting on Friday, said these two categories of workers are underpaid, exploited and vulnerable despite their indispensable contribution to society.

“These hardworking men and women are the invisible foundation of our city’s economy and households. They load and unload goods in markets, clean our homes and streets, care for our children and elderly, assist on construction sites and provide essential services that sustain both urban and domestic life,” Olok said.

She added that these workers remain unprotected and underrepresented, often working without written contracts and receiving irregular pay.

“Most of us are able to work comfortably because a casual or domestic worker is performing responsibilities at home or in our businesses. They enable working parents to be economically productive. They should therefore be formally recognised,” said Olok, noting that the ordinance is grounded in existing legal frameworks such as the Employment Act 2006 and the Labour Unions Act 2006.

Olok proposed several measures to ensure casual and domestic workers are recognised, protected and supported. These include facilitating the formation of workers’ cooperatives or associations to enhance representation and advocating for their inclusion in the National Social Security Fund [NSSF], health insurance and pension schemes.

The city council will also require employers to provide written contracts for all casual workers under city programmes, including road gangs responsible for keeping the city clean.

After its third reading and approval by the council, the motion will now be submitted to the Office of the Solicitor General for further legal guidance before implementation begins.

Gertrude Abalo, who works as a housemaid, welcomed the initiative, saying it will greatly improve workers’ welfare.

“I have worked as a housemaid for seven years now. When I started, I was paid only Shs 30,000 per month by my first employer, yet I was overworked and never given time to rest. I hope that the city will implement the ordinance very soon,” said Abalo, who now earns Shs 100,000 per month.

Geoffrey Lakwonyero, Gulu City Senior Labour Officer, said casual workers rarely report cases of abuse such as poor pay by their employers.

“Many decide to just quit because they usually don’t know where to report, and they also have no written contracts. Some domestic workers are paid as little as Shs 20,000 per month, sometimes even irregularly. That money is far too little to cover basic needs,” Lakwonyero said.

He explained that the city will develop a comprehensive policy to curb abuses against casual and domestic workers.

“Once the policy is in place, they will be protected, better paid, and entitled to social benefits and improved safety at workplaces.”

The labour officer added that forming a cooperative for casual and domestic workers will not only bring them together but also provide a platform to save money and access affordable credit.

“Most casual and domestic workers have no savings. They live hand-to-mouth, but we want to form a cooperative to address this.”

The number of casual and domestic workers currently in Gulu City remains unknown, as no census or sector mapping has yet been conducted.

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