Emmanuel,
You, yourself, are not in Uganda, are you? Dont lie now!
y
>From: "emmanuel musaazi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Re: ugnet_: The failure of AGOA in Museveni's Uganda
>Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 11:48:07 -0500
>
>Netters this "Agoa girls" situation is a classic example of why
>Africa is where it is. Firstly some of us on this medium have been
>vehemently accusing the president of working against programs and/or
>policies that favour third world countries, case in point is the
>failed cancun talks where President Museveni was accused of siding
>with industrialized countries. Well this AGOA program is one of
>those programs which is supposed to benefit third world countries
>and which other third world countries are signitories to (including
>Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya etc) to name a few. Yet most of you again
>are turning around to accuse the Government of introducing "SLAVERY"
>programs to Uganda, you can't eat your cake and have it.
>
>Secondly, the so called "Agoa girls" should have been educated to
>the fact that we are in a global economy right now, which means that
>if the factory can't work in Uganda it will work in China, if not
>China, then India, if not India then Bangladesh. That means that
>even though they have a right to protest and contest the conditions
>of work, they ought to have done it in a more CIVILIZED MANNER, so
>that they win both ways, in other words they get to keep their jobs
>and also have conditions of work improved. Right now they have lost
>completely, because they have no jobs, so they are far worse off
>than where they were before. Plus the company maybe moved to some
>other destination, luckly in Uganda or unluckly to some other
>country. Besides they also had the option of resigning, to me their
>actions were rather selfish because they may have closed
>oportunities for others. The action of the police was very right,
>the moment they barrackeded themselves in the building and
>threatened to set it ablaze, they had fallen afoul of the law and
>left the police with little choice than to forcefully evict them.
>
>Thirdly, those of you that are shouting about "SLAVERY" are working
>under far worse conditions in BRITAIN, GERMANY, SPAIN, DUBAI,
>AMERICA, etc and not complaining. Who is worse off, at least the
>"Agoa girls" are in there country unlike those of you who are "REALY
>SLAVES" in foreign countries. At least they are not cleaning
>toilets, and prostituting all over the world and then coming home
>to decieve their relatives that they are big shots. How true are the
>late Bob Marley's lyrics "emancipate yourselves from mental
>slavery", in other words it is ok to go to BRITAIN or DEBAI AND BE
>SUBJECTED TO SLAVE LIKE CONDITIONS OF WORK, BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING IT
>FOR "BAZUNGU" BUT WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY IN A HONEST JOB,
>BUT EARNING LOW PAY, YOU ARE A SLAVE. MAY GOD SAVE US FROM
>OURSELVES, AMEN.
>
>
>>From: "Chris Opoka-Okumu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>CC: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>Subject: ugnet_: The failure of AGOA in Museveni's Uganda
>>Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 00:16:41 -0400
>>
>> This indeed is the much vaunted "modernization and
>>transformation"!!! Phew!!! Obote is right. This government is
>>bankrupt of ideas of governace and management of the economy. They
>>can only survive on plagiarization and since there was no AGOA in
>>the 1980s, there was nothing to pliagiarize. Hence their bankruptcy
>>of ideas on the much hyped AGOA. Read on. Katumba Wamala abuses
>>the office of IG of Policer to intervene on purely contracual
>>matterrs outside jurisdiction of police in private relations. AGOA
>>indeed!! My foot.
>>
>> COO
>>
>> Agoa girls sacked
>> By Simon Kasyate & Lominda Afedraru
>> Oct 23, 2003
>>
>>
>> ** Police boss Wamala ends strike
>> ** They survived on doughnuts and water
>>
>> KAMPALA - More than 1,000 young women who were on
>>strike at a local textile factory have been fired.
>>
>> The firm, which produces and exports textiles to the
>>United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Agoa,
>>has also been closed temporarily.
>> The employees, believed to be more than 1,000, and
>>popularly known as Agoa girls, were sacked following a two-day
>>strike at the Apparel Tri-Star factory in Bugolobi, Kampala.
>>
>> The head of the company, Mr V. Kananathan, wrote to Dr
>>David Ogaram, the commissioner for labour in the Ministry of
>>Gender, Labour and Social Development, yesterday confirming the
>>sacking.
>>
>> "In light of the [strike], we have been forced to take
>>a very painful decision, which is to terminate the services of all
>>our production staff summarily due to unbecoming conduct," the
>>official wrote in his letter.
>>
>> Kananathan said the strike had disrupted the
>>operations of the company, leading to "irreparable damage" to its
>>reputation and operations.
>>
>> The letter also announced the temporary closure of the
>>factory. "In view of the recent strike undertaken by our employees,
>>we have decided to temporarily close down the factory," Kananathan
>>wrote.
>>
>> The official, who was not available for comment, said
>>the girls would be paid all their outstanding arrears as of Monday.
>>
>> Strike ends
>>
>> The sacking of the girls came after Inspector General
>>of Police Katumba Wamala ended the strike yesterday.
>>
>> The girls had been protesting low pay, poor working
>>conditions and reports that some of them were about to be sacked.
>>
>> They also said that they were being forced to share a
>>dormitory and toilet facilities with males.
>>
>> On Tuesday morning, the girls barricaded themselves
>>inside the dormitory and refused to come out, despite appeals from
>>management and police. Then Maj. Gen. Wamala turned up at around
>>midday yesterday with a truckload of anti-riot cops. For close to
>>an hour, he urged the girls to call off the strike.
>>
>> Some of them told The Monitor that when they refused
>>to open, Wamala ordered his squad to storm.
>>
>> The police boss reportedly had asked the girls to end
>>the strike while he brokers a meeting between them and the
>>management of Tri-Star, which is run with government support.
>>
>> That meeting had been scheduled for Saturday and the
>>girls had threatened to burn the factory if the decision made did
>>not go their way.
>>
>> The Tri-Star management has refused to comment on the
>>strike since it began.
>> The police chief did not speak to reporters as he
>>drove out of the factory premises.
>>
>> About 1,400 girls spent more than 24 hours inside the
>>dormitory before the strike ended.
>>
>> After the locks to the dorm were broken yesterday,
>>several girls emerged looking hungry and haggard and dashed to
>>nearby shops to grab a bite.
>>
>> Some of the girls, who spoke to The Monitor on
>>condition of anonymity, said they had survived on doughnuts and
>>water from a fire hose.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> � 2003 The Monitor Publications
>>
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>>
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