This chapter is divided into three sections:
Section I analyses the character and organisation of the catering activity in Owino market by investigating such factors as the ownership of the means of production, the forms of labour, labour recruitment and terms of service.
Section II analyses the reasons given by the respondents for entering the catering activity and their aspirations for the future.
Section III centres on the social, economic and cultural characteristics of the key actors.
The means of production in this study refers to the stall and the materials used, specifically the cooking stoves, utensils, saucepans, tables and benches.
The major forms of ownership identified were individual and partnership. Partnership was practised by women employers who had received the initial capital from their husbands or relatives. It was discovered that in cases where the husbands had supplied the initial capital to start the business, they (the husbands) had a say in how the profits or proceeds accruing from that business were utilised. Nevertheless the day to day running of the business was done by the sponsored party.
Individual ownership was by far the most prevalent form of ownership. Ownership of the means of production in the catering industry was determined by financial ability and availability of contacts. Thus employers had either got their initial capital from their relatives or from money invested in other businesses.
Contacts were also necessary to know where to go for licences, to know the vacant stall and to know how to go about establishing the business generally. All these were related to knowing people. Although the employer owned the means of production, they were full time in the stalls, supervising and labouring side by side with their employees.
Forms of labour:
There were two major forms of labour identified
- private labour
- family labour
Table 1
Forms of Labour
N = 52
Forms of labour |
Prevalence | |
1. Family labour |
3 % |
(2) |
2. Family labour |
10% |
(5) |
3. Private labour (Recruitment only) |
87% |
(45) |
As indicated in the table, 13% (7) of the employees interviewed had kinship ties with their employers; 10% (5) of these had their terms of service unaffected by the kinship ties since they were being paid the agreed wage and were also staying on their own. The remaining 3% (2) recruited on the basis of kinship relations were staying with the employers and their terms of payment were also pegged on these relations.
Women recruited in this category were new arrivals from the rural areas, young (about 15 - 20 years), school dropouts and distant relatives of the employers. 87% (45) of the employees interviewed were recruited as private labour, through their own initiative or through a friend or relative who knew the employers.
Both forms of labour had implications for the condition of work and terms of service of the employees. As indicated in the table the high prevalence of private labour and as such the low prevalence of family labour might be as a result of the loosening of family/kinship ties in urban areas. The exploitative relations which exist in family labour structures might have led also to the decline of family labour. For instance the employees related to the employers and whose terms of service were pegged to these ties complained of being given no wages other than occasional hand outs.
In addition, given the commercialisation of urban life family labour with its inherent tendency to satisfy domestic subsistence needs, has become increasingly counter productive. Yet family labour is bound to stay given the importance of social and family ties in the acquisition of jobs in the informal sector.
In any case with the rampant poverty in the rural areas and high incidence of school drop-out, such sectors as the catering activity in urban areas is a stepping stone for many rural migrants, who have to rely mainly on their relatives to secure these jobs.
Labour Recruitment:
There are three different ways in which respondents said they acquired their employment:
- Through their personal initiative.
- Through a friend or relative who knew the employer.
- Through kinship ties whereby the employer and employee were related.
Table 2
Labour recruitment
N = 52
|
Recruitment method |
Prevalence |
1 |
Personal initiative |
12% (6) |
2 |
Through friend/relative |
75% (39) |
3 |
Through kinship ties |
13% (7) |
|
100% (52) | |
75% (39) of the employees interviewed acquired their employment through a friend or relative who knew the employer. The high percentage of employees who acquired their jobs through friends or relatives may indicate that in the absence of formal advertisements, the relatives and friends take on the role of being intermediaries as far as jobs and job seekers are concerned.
13% (7) of the respondents acquired their jobs through kinship relations with the employer. Yet of these only 3% (2) could be grouped under family labour; that is, those employees who stay with their employers and are not paid regular wages but paid in kind i.e. food, accommodation etc.
The low prevalence of family labour has been discussed in the preceding section.
12% (6) of the employees interviewed got their job through personal initiative. This low percentage can be explained by the fact that with the absence of formal referees as in the formal sector, the informal sector depends on friends and relatives as referees. Hence the high incidence of employees who got their jobs through a friend or relative.
Table 3
Occupational Background of Employee Respondents:
|
Occupational background |
Duration of stay in Town/employment |
Prevalence |
1. |
Jobless/from rural area |
2 - 6 months |
72% (37) |
2. |
Jobless/in town |
3 months - 1 year |
18% (9) |
3. |
Employed in the same market - selling vegetables and fresh foods |
2 - 3 months |
6% (4) |
4. |
Employed in hair saloon In slum area around market |
1 -2 months |
4% (2) |
|
|
|
100% (52) |
72% (37) of the employees interviewed were new arrivals from the rural areas (ranging from 2 - 6 months). All of them further claimed that this was their first employment in the city.
18% (9) of the respondents had been in town but jobless. As indicated in the table the rest of the respondents were employed in the market and hair saloon. Asked why they changed employment the women who had been employed in the hair saloon and market pointed out that at least the present employment ensured them a meal.
All the employers agreed on the fact that they prefer recruiting girls freshly from the rural areas. Such employees were reportedly easier to control given the traditional social norms inculcated into children i.e. respecting the elders. Thus the newly arrived girls in the city were still well behaved. That is they respected their employers whom they viewed as a parent and could take on exploitation and oppression without much question.
Terms of Service:
All the employee respondents pointed out that there was no written agreement/contract prior to commencement of work. Th most important aspects of the job were discussed verbally. These were:-
- the nature and mode of payment
- the tasks to be performed.
The employees were paid on a daily basis a wage ranging from 500/= - 1000/= Uganda shillings (50 cents - $1). The wages were not based on the daily income of the employer since it was fixed. Some employees reported that they had been promised a raise at the commencement of work but that they had never received it. Yet the employees also did not give the employers a chance to give them a raise as we will discuss later.
The employers interviewed would not explain the rationale behind the wages they gave to their employees.
The employees pointed out that the wages given were very meagre and would not sustain them. Asked how they make ends meet all the respondents reported that they were being assisted in one way or another by a relative.
This brings in the issue of the existing social system of extended families as a factor in the exploitation of the employees in the informal sector in general. This factor will be fully discussed later.
The employees related to the employers can be divided into two categories as far as remunerations were concerned.
The first category consists of those paid their daily wages normally like the other employees not related to the employer.
The second category includes those who stayed with the employers and were remunerated for their labour in kind. Only one respondent in this second category claimed that she did not mind the system very much as it guaranteed her welfare and placed a moral obligation upon the employer/relative to look after her.
However a deeper analysis of these claims may indicate otherwise.
In the first place, among all the employees interviewed none had stayed in the catering employment for more than six (6) months. This indicates that there is a high turn over of employees in all the categories of workers.
The high turnover indicates dissatisfaction with the conditions of work in the catering activity.
In any case the respondent who claimed to enjoy the system had just come from the rural area and this claim might have been as a result of the insecurity felt in the new environment.
The study identified four (4) actors in the catering activity in Owino market.
These were:-
- the employers (owners of the means of production) .
- the employees.
- the government officials represented by the tax officers, market masters and resistance council officials.
- The customers (those who buy the food in the catering stalls).
This study deals mainly with the first two actors who are directly responsible for production in the catering activity. These are specifically the employees and their employers.
The findings confirmed that the categories of employees on the one hand and those of the employers on the other were to a large extent homogeneous. These categories were in terms of age, educational levels, marital status and position in the household.
All the respondents (both employees and employers) were women except one employer. This gender imbalance may confirm the fact that women dominate the lower and poorer sections of the informal sector.
Mawanda on the other hand argues that the gender imbalance in the catering activity suggests the persistence of the traditional demarcation of duties. (Mawanda (ATRCW/UNECA 1991: 62)
This argument is not applicable to all catering activities in the informal sector since in the intermediate section of the informal sector, the catering activities (restaurants) the gender imbalance is not very pronounced.
Age and Marital Status:
The women employers interviewed were mature women aged between 30 - 45 years. 38% (6) were divorced, 31% (16) were widowed and 19% (10) were single.
The employees on the other hand were young aged between 17 - 25 years. 93% (48) were single while 7% (4) were divorced or separated from their husbands.
Table 4
Marital and Age Characteristics of the Key Actors
|
Single |
Married |
Separated/ Divorced |
Widowed |
Av. No. of Dependants |
Av. Age |
Employees |
48(93%) |
- |
4 (7%) |
- |
- |
21 |
Employer |
10(19%) |
20(38%) |
6(12%) |
16(31%) |
5 |
45 |
From the above table one can deduce that among the poor people (lower class) capital is accumulated over time since it is only mature women who are the owners of the businesses on this economic activity. Capital is required to hire the stall to buy assets like tables, saucepans, cooking stoves etc. and also the useable like charcoal, food etc.
The disparity in age between the employers and employees as indicated in Table 1 brought about matronage in their relationship.
Education levels:
The education level of the major actors also affected the working conditions of the employees.
Table 5
Education Levels of the Key Actors
N = 52
Respondents |
None at all |
P. 1 -4 |
P.5 - 7 |
S.1 - S.2 |
Employees |
12 (23%0 |
14(27%) |
19 (37%) |
7 (13%) |
Employers |
5 (10%) |
36 (69%) |
9 (17%) |
2 (4%) |
According to Table 5 the majority of the employees attained some level of primary education. Yet the education levels attained by the majority were very low. This had negative implications for their conditions of work. For instance they would not look for alternative employment in the formal sector or even in the modern informal sector. Neither would they demand better wages as they lacked the confidence to do so.
A bigger percentage of the employers on the other hand had attained primary four level. (i.e. 41 employers). This enabled them to keep track of their business transactions. During the field research, I noticed that although no employer had proper books of accounts, at least 90% had some scraps of papers where they wrote their figures.
The other 10% reiterate that they never read but would remember all their transactions. The fact that the employers kept no books of accounts (however simplified they might be) may have contributed to the low returns from their business. This turn affected the terms of service of the employees.
Position in the Household and Family Size:
As indicated in Table 1, 93% of the employees interviewed were single, the rest were divorced or separated. 95% of the employees were staying with relatives like an uncle, aunt, sister, brother, cousin etc. These relatives provided the respondents with accommodation and other necessities. The 5% of the respondents who claimed to be staying on their own had no families/dependants.
In fact all of them explained that they were staying on their own but with a brother, cousin or friend assisting them with their needs.
10% of the employee respondents claimed that they had one - two children but that the children were staying with a relative, usually a grandmother in the village. Thus the employees had no household obligations apart from doing a few chores. In my proposal I had intended to analyse how women employees balanced their household duties and their obligations at work; but given the fact that the women employees are single without families of their own this analysis is no longer necessary. Yet the fact that all the employees are young, single and without household obligations may be an indication of two important things.
First of all the nature of work in the catering activity on Owino market, i.e. the working hours, tasks involved, remunerations... cannot allow a mature person with obligations to work there.
Another issue to consider is the fact that the employers may be interested in employing young girls to attract male customers.
The lack of household obligation in a way played a big role in influencing the conditions of work of the employees since with no dependants and therefore no urgent needs, their demands and needs were few. Thus they would afford to work for any amount of money offered as wages.
By relying on the relatives for sustenance in terms of housing, food, medical and other needs, the employees were not very desperate to demand for equitable terms of service. Thus the existing social system of extended families becoming a factor in the exploitations of the employees. The employers on the other hand had household obligations. As table 1 indicates 38% of the employers were married. These women reported that since they were earning an income, their husbands expected them to contribute to the expenses in the home. Thus most women employers reported that they were paying school fees for their children and dependants and also shouldering other expenses.
30% of the employees were widowed, thus being the sole heads of their households. The employers had an average of about five dependants (including their own children) in their homes. Some of these dependants were their grandchildren whose parents had died of AIDS.
Such obligations meant that the employers had to get as much profit as possible from their businesses and this meant recruiting as few employees as possible, overworking these few employees, and paying them as little as possible. This can explain the long working hours, the varied tasks undertaken by the employees, and the low wages.
The discussion on the manner in which the women employees joined the catering activity leads us to another discussion of examining the reasons individuals gave for entering this business activity.
The majority of the employees responded that this was their first job they or their friends and relatives had got for them. The employers on the other hand reported that they had assumed that the catering economic activity in Owino market required little capital to start and that it would bring in sizeable daily profits.
Other employers had been brought by friends who already had business in Owino market.
Most of the employers seemed to be disappointed in their business. Thus when asked about their future aspirations they gave a number of responses.
Table 6
Future Aspirations of Employers
N = 52
(Total % is greater than 100% because of multiple replies).
Responses |
Frequencies |
- get money and start another business |
20 39% |
- return to the village |
15 29% |
- abandon the business |
12 23% |
- resigned to stay in present business |
23 45% |
- no concrete plans |
3 6% |
The responses indicated in the above table portray the disappointment of the employers in the catering economic activity reflected in their desperate aspirations. The employers who said they would stay in the business also pointed out that it was because they had no where else to go since they were making no profits to invest in any other business. The fact that none of the employers thought of improving his/her business for better returns is an indication of the lack of commitment to their businesses. Yet when queried, the women employers pointed out that they were shouldering a number of financial obligation in the homes i.e. paying school fees... Therefore the women employers were at least getting something out of their business.
When asked why they did not strive to improve their businesses all of them reported that apart from lack of money, there was no room for improvement in terms of space, furniture and quality of food. That the conditions of the stalls were beyond their powers and that as far as the food was concerned their customers wanted the cheapest fare.
The owners of the catering activity would not hope for better customers given the state of the market in general.
This response is an indicator of two things:-
The women employers in the catering activity in Owino market do not own the most important item in the production process - the stall. Thus efforts to improve their business would be hampered by this factor.
The clientele of the catering activity and the condition of the market may indicate the class stratification in Kampala. In the first place the market was constructed to cater for the lower class. Therefore it may not be by accident that the market is dirty and the stalls shabby.
The response of the employees centred around looking for a better employment. In fact for all employees the present job was a stepping stone for better prospects like working as a house-maid or in a well established hair/beauty saloon.
These findings indicated that the catering activity in Owino market is heavily hampered by its environment.
The findings further indicate that the employees are resigned to their fate of just making a little amount of money just for survival. The women employees viewed their jobs as a stepping stone to better prospects. Thus the employers and employees (as individuals and as a group) would not consciously put in an effort to improve their conditions of work and terms of service.
