By Our Reporter
Its a panicky moment for the Parliamentary Commission which has been sued over a contentious “service award” granted to former Leader of Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga and three other back-bench commissioners.
On May 23, concerned citizen Mr. Daniel Bwette filed the lawsuit in the High Court in Kampala, contending that the Parliamentary Commission’s decision to allocate a total of Shs1.7 billion to the four individuals is illegal, oppressive, biased, irrational, and unfair.
“The respondent’s (Parliamentary Commission) decision to award the Leader of Opposition, Mr. Mathias Mpuuga, Shs500 million and the other three Parliamentary Commissioners Shs400 million [each] disguised as a service award on May 6, 2022, is ultra vires and is null and void,” the lawsuit states.
Court documents reveal that on May 6, 2022, the four commissioners, including Ms. Prossy Akampurira (Rubanda District Woman MP), Mr. Solomon Silwany (Bukooli County MP), and Ms. Esther Afoyochan (Woman District MP for Zombo), met with the Speaker of Parliament, Ms. Anita Among, and were each awarded Shs400 million, with Mr. Mpuuga receiving Shs500 million.
Mr. Bwette argues that the service award given to the lawmakers is not part of Parliament’s payment structures.
“The said payment, termed as a service award, is a term which is alien in parliamentary payments and does not form part of the legitimate benefits which accrue to serving members of Parliament,” he stated in his lawsuit.
To Ugandan tax payers, the above service award is wastage of their money, however HR experts says this is actually crucial and important as seen below;
One of the top benefits of presenting employees with a service award is its ability to increase employee retention.
Employees who feel like their work is valued are more likely to stay at the same organization. Your employees likely want to know their work matters, too. When they feel like they’re valued for a job well done, they become more committed to staying with the same company.
If your employees feel undervalued, however, they’ll become more likely to leave. Instead, they’ll find a company that appreciates their hard work.
In fact, a lack of recognition is a common reason employees quit their jobs.
If you want to improve retention rates, consider implementing an employee service award. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with high turnaround and retention rates. Constantly losing employees will cause you to lose time and money.
After all, you’ll have to waste time recruiting, hiring, and training. That time you lose will cause a drop in productivity and sales, too.
Celebrating your employees by presenting them with a service award will help them feel appreciated.
In addition to showing your appreciation for their hard work, you’re also showing you appreciate their dedication to the company. Take the time to thank your employees for their years of service.
Doing so will help your employees appreciate you and the company more as well.
In fact, a service award creates a celebration for your company as a whole. You’re acknowledging the success of retaining employees for a long period of time. As a result, you’ll show your team as a whole that you appreciate them.
