Os desafios do mundo do trabalho na apropriação dos beneficios sociais resultantes do

Martin Wandera

This study was motivated by an interest to understand better the factors that constrain export growth and limit the social outcomes of trade liberalization like employment. The flower industry was used as a case study and the specific objectives of the study were to examine the constraints to market access opportunities under EPA and the extent to which labour market institutions in Uganda can facilitate the achievement of social welfare benefits under EPA through the decent work agenda. The underlying idea behind free trade agreements like EPA is that freer trade expands opportunities and benefits all trading partners equally. The study however finds that because of supply side rigidities like poor public infrastructure, ever rising electricity tariffs, high freight charges as well problems of accessing long term funding; Uganda is not able to take full advantage of trade benefits created by free market access. Building on Keynesian ideas that link employment to production, the study concludes that supply side constraints also affect employment in as far they undermine production. While the level of employment is a product market issue, social welfare issues like decent work are labour market and for that reason labour market institutions were also examined. The study concludes that as part of the neoliberal agenda of deregulation, the government of Uganda has deliberately frustrated the implementation of labour laws. Failure to implement laws like the minimum wage facilitates unequal appropriation of the benefits of trade. For example whereas the value of flower exports has increased by over 200 percent in the last 10 years, wages have remained stagnant.

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