The National Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU) has criticized the move by the Ministry of Public Service to issue a strict dress code for non-uniformed officers in the public service.
According to the Chairman General of NOTU Usher Wilson Owere, the decision was rushed. He noted that there is what is called a negotiation machinery in public service.
“Whatever rules or regulations they pick, they should have first consulted us as workers,” he said.
A statement issued by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Public Service Catherine Bitarakwate on Monday noted that public officers have been dressing indecently.
The statement states that Ugandan officials will have to put on clothes that are not “tight,” and “not above the knees.” and their hair not colored.
The Department of Public Service gave the guidelines at the beginning of the week, a directive which prescribes a strict dress code for women who work in the country’s administrative offices.
In the face of the criticism that has risen against this measure considered authoritarian.
The Director of the Human Resources Management of the Department, Adah Muwanga indicates that it is only a bite of a reminder.
“The Department does that to clarify what already exists in the laws and the code of conduct. In the laws and the code of good conduct, it is written that in general, the officials must be dressed in a decent way and in a manner acceptable to the Ugandan society.”
The chest and thighs covered for the women but the measure also concerns the men!
All male public officers are “required to put on trousers, jackets and a necktie and will not be allowed to use open shoes during working hours except for medical conditions as recommended by a doctor.”
For both sexes, the non-compliance of the new directive will lead to a warning and in the case of repeated violations a disciplinary sanction will be taken.
Source: africanews.com
