The union told the ITF that three times the number of workers attended the meeting than had done so at previous election gatherings, and that on the same day, the inspector general of police had invited the union in for talks and welcomed a delegation led by ATGWU chair Usher Wilson Owere.
The police chief called the public meeting on Sunday in response to the announcement of a strike on 8 June by the ATGWU following police invasions of its head office in Kampala on 22 May and 5 June. These incidents had disrupted the union’s attempts to elect officials to represent some 30,000 members in informal workers’ associations that the ATGWU is helping to strengthen by bringing them into the union.
He apologised to the crowd of several hundred minibus drivers in and around Kampala mobilised by the ATGWU, and the union agreed to call off the strike and hold another meeting this week to test whether his pledge held true. Union members also used the event to hand out ITF/FNV wristbands saying in Swahili ‘without unions employment is poverty itself – Join Now’.
ITF Africa regional secretary Joe Katende said: “It would seem that 30,000 informal workers joining the union had given the authorities a fright but this repression was illegal and should not have happened, given the already existing good relations.
“We are pleased that the inspector general of police has kept to his word and allowed the elections to proceed uninterrupted. We hope this signals continued good relations between the police and the ATGWU.”
