Young Lawyers are not slaves!

 

Young Lawyers are not Slaves!

Abstract,

Many a time, the internet is awash with various ‘memes’ and or posts about the struggles that graduate lawyers particularly young lawyers go through in trying to make a cut for themselves on the precious piece of cake that comes with being a lawyer. It is unfortunate though, that however noble the profession is, its nobility has somewhat been restricted to all but the welfare of young lawyers.

In this short article, I shall highlight the different struggles young lawyers are facing including lack of job security, poor remuneration, extortion by their employers et al, and how the Law Council as the regulator needs to intervene to make great this noble profession again.

Do young lawyers have rights at work?

The attainment of rights at work, like the other objectives, is influenced by many aspects of economic, social, and institutional structure. Indeed, it is often argued that the concept of rights at work, as derived from ILO standards, is based on the classical employer-employee model in industrialized market economies and that this has little relevance to the needs and conditions of most developing countries.

The great majority of those countries share characteristics in which the language and culture of rights seem out of place. These characteristics are “widespread absolute poverty, extensive under- or unemployment, limited industrialization, and dualistic economic structures” 

There is a fear that the implementation of rights at work will put developing countries at a competitive disadvantage in international trade and in attracting foreign direct investment.

This fear is reinforced by the ideology of neoliberalism and deregulation: the belief that the state should have a minimal role and that “free” and flexible labour markets, supported only by private law rather than public intervention, are the best or only way to ensure economic development and, in the long run, improved conditions of work.

That is why, in as much as the constitution of Uganda in Article 40 provides for the tenets of the right to work, including inter alia employers’ responsibility to ensure that the employees are accorded a safe and healthy workplace, remuneration, and leave; the operability of the said provisions together with the provisions in the various labor legislations leave a lot to be desired.

Employees are accorded such a magic wand at the expense of their young counterparts in among other things determining how much is payable per work done, how long one works in a day, what conditions employees work in, and so forth. This has of course gone on under the watch of both the government and the law council which is the chief regulator of the legal profession.

As a result, we have numerous cases of young lawyers who are disadvantaged in terms of working conditions. From my experience, I have encountered a number of colleagues who did graduate from the Law Development Centre and are earning UGX 300,000/- and others volunteering at the mercies of their employer firms that give them a mere UGX 10,000 per day as a token of appreciation without earning a salary.

In most cases, this goes on for long periods and due to the fear of losing the opportunity to work, juxtaposed with the recent influx of young lawyers, these employees are forced by circumstances to stay at work for fear of losing their jobs despite the harsh conditions.

Cases of young lawyers working for long hours i.e 7 am-10 pm have also been a subject of talk amongst many young lawyer circles. This does not only violate the standards set forth by the International Labour Organization, but also the principles of natural justice.

The cases of job insecurity that come with working without formal employment contracts put employers in a position where they can fire and hire at will without facing any legal consequences. This juxtaposed with the lack of different benefits that come with formal employment ie NSSF benefits, medical insurance, and leave exposes young lawyers to serious cases of exploitation by their employers.

Do young lawyers’ rights at work really matter?

What do i mean when i say that all working people have rights? The word “right” is ambiguous. First, there is a sense in which to have a right is to have a claim which can be enforced in a court of law, that is a legal right. To say that I have a right not to be dismissed without good cause or a right to be paid in full the wages agreed with my employer is to assert a claim that forms part of positive law. If it cannot be enforced it is not a legal right.

A second sense of the word “right”, which is different from a legal right, is that of a moral right. If I say that I have a right to decent work, or to fair pay, this does not mean that I am able to enforce that right.

On the contrary, if I assert a moral right to decent work or fair pay it is likely that I do not think I enjoy these rights. We are most acutely aware of a moral right when it is not being conceded. And just like all employees in other professions and disciplines, young lawyers should have such rights protected and not get exploited by their senior counterparts.

Rights such as decent work, decent pay, and working conditions should be rights that are not the subject of conversation in the legal profession rather, such a noble profession ought to set a yardstick that does not just discourage children from dreaming of becoming lawyers, but rather attract more of them to fight for and uphold the rule of law using the profession as a tool.

Conclusion

It is trite that moral rights generally precede their recognition as legal rights.  This does not mean that they cannot be realized without legislation. Voluntary arrangements and a general social consensus may support such moral rights without legal intervention. Legal rights become necessary when moral rights are not being observed.

And as such, the law council as the regulator needs to come up with strategies and policies that ensure law firms do observe and adhere to sound welfare policies that do not focus on extorting young lawyers, but rather empowering them to ensure maximum human capital.

The writer is a young Lawyer.

horacekun@gmail.com