Labour Officers from across Eastern Uganda have been urged to strengthen their capacity to resolve workplace disputes at the earliest opportunity as part of efforts to promote labour justice, industrial harmony and sustainable economic development.
The call was made during the third regional training of labour officers held at Court View Hotel in Mbale. The training was organised by the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) in collaboration with the Industrial Court and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, with support from the International Development Law Organization (IDLO).
Opening the training virtually, the Chairperson of the JTI Governing Council and Supreme Court Justice, Justice Mike Chibita, described labour officers as an important first point of contact when employment relationships break down.
He noted that Uganda’s rapidly growing and predominantly young population continues to expand the labour force, with a significant proportion of Ugandans earning their livelihoods in the informal sector.
Justice Chibita urged labour officers to strike a fair balance between protecting the rights and dignity of workers and enabling employers to remain productive, competitive and capable of creating and sustaining employment.
He encouraged the officers to view labour relations not simply as a contest between employers and employees, but as a framework for cooperation, fairness, productivity and sustainable economic development.
Justice Chibita further urged participants to use the training to share challenges encountered in the field, interrogate the laws and procedures they apply and learn from experienced judicial officers, practitioners and one another.
He also underscored the importance of closer collaboration between labour officers and the Industrial Court, noting that increased access to labour legislation and Industrial Court jurisprudence through the Uganda Legal Information Institute can promote consistency and legal certainty in labour dispute resolution.
In her keynote address, the Head of the Industrial Court, Lady Justice Linda Lillian Tumusiime Mugisha, described labour officers as frontline defenders and gatekeepers of labour justice, noting that their interventions can determine whether workplace disputes are resolved promptly or escalate into prolonged litigation.
She revealed that since its establishment in 2014, the Industrial Court has handled more than 8,000 cases, nearly 5,000 of which were direct references from labour offices, while about 360 were appeals.
Lady Justice Tumusiime Mugisha said the Court currently has a backlog of approximately 3,000 cases, with some of the pressure attributed to weak case management, non-standardised reporting and referral processes, limited use of technology and inadequate coordination among labour officers, the Ministry and the Industrial Court.
She said the training was designed to address these gaps by equipping labour officers with practical skills in conciliation, mediation, enforcement of labour laws, hearing procedures, evidence, complaint intake and registration, case management, documentation and reporting.
Participants are also being taken through emerging labour issues, including the gig economy, platform and digital workers, remote work, child and migrant labour, vulnerable and marginalised workers, as well as the implications of recent amendments to employment legislation.
Lady Justice Tumusiime Mugisha said strengthening the capacity of labour officers would enable more disputes to be resolved at labour offices, reduce unnecessary referrals to the Industrial Court and ultimately contribute to reducing the Court’s case backlog.
Addressing the participants virtually, the JTI Executive Director, Justice Prof. Andrew Khaukha, said the training programme was initiated in response to the growing caseload at the Industrial Court and the need to retool labour officers across the country.
He commended the Industrial Court leadership, IDLO and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development for supporting the initiative and urged participants to take full advantage of the knowledge and experience of the facilitators.
The training was also attended by Justice Asaph Ruhinda Ntengye, a retired Judge of the Industrial Court, and was moderated by HW Beatrice Stella Atingu, Special Duties, High Court.
The Eastern Region training follows similar sessions conducted for labour officers in Kampala Central and Northern Uganda. Further training is planned for the Western and wider Kampala Metropolitan areas as the Judiciary and its partners seek to strengthen labour dispute resolution nationwide.
Posted 17th, August 2026
