What I will learn

  • The rights and responsibilities of consumers.
  • The rights and responsibilities of employers.
  • The basis of holistic peace-making.

What I will do

  • Investigate how rights of consumer, employers and employees are related and interdependent.
  • Explore relevant laws and policies on consumer and employment.
  • Explore the effects and benefits of well-developed clear rights.
Introduction
The meaning of a consumer

In the previous unit we studied how South Sudan economy funtions. In this topic, we are going to discuss the rights in detail. We will first define the terms consumer, goods or service.

A consumer is a person or an organisation that uses a good or a service.

A good is a tangible item that you can touch and feel, for example, mango, bread, table and pen.

A service is an intangible activity provided to people either through physical energy or intellectual abilities, for example services offered by teachers, doctors, drivers

People buying food stuff.

South Sudan consumer rights

Consumers have their rights that protect them from exploitation.

In 2011, the South Sudan government passed Consumers Protection Act that outlines the rights of consumers against exploitation.

The following are some of the consumer rights according to the 2011 Consumer Protection Act of South Sudan.

  • Right against unfair or unjust transaction – Consumer is protected against any unfair transaction of goods and services from the supplier such as excessive buying price of a commodity.
  • Rights against false or misleading presentation – The consumer should be shown the right information about the material facts on the product he or she wishes to buy.
  • Rights to safe state and good quality – A consumer has a right to receive goods that are of good quality and free of defects.
  • Right to implied warranty of quality – A consumer has the right to receive the implied warranty of quality of goods as stipulated by the producer or retailer.
  • Right to demand for quality services – A consumer has a right to performance and completion of service in an acceptable manner, time and quality. Any delays should be communicated to the consumer in time.
  • Right for compensation for damages and loss – The supplier should compensate the consumer for goods that are damaged when being transported by the supplier.
  • Right to be heard – A consumer has a right to have assurance that the government will take full responsibility of all the concerns expressed and act on them according to administrative procedures.
  • Right to complain and redress – Consumers have a right to receive fair settlement of just claims of service failure or interruption.
  • Right to end a contract – Consumers have a right to cancel a contract within reasonable period not exceeding three days from date of signing contract. Cancelling provisions and procedures must be indicated in all contracts.
Consumer responsibilities

A responsibility is the ability or power to act or decide on one’s own obligation without supervision.

The responsibilities of consumers include:
  • Be honest with the information by giving accurate information when you are filling consumer documents.
  • Carefully read all information provided on goods and services.
  • Ask questions about anything that is unclear on commodities.
  • Know how to make a complaint and use the right procedure to make them.
  • Use the product or service in line with the terms and conditions.

Review all your documents after buying commodities

  • Apply or request for products and services that meet your needs.
  • Be environmentally conscious when using products, that is, do the right disposal. Use your own mail address or mobile number when giving contact details.
  • Solidarity – Consumers have the responsibility to organise themselves in form of consumer associations in order to promote and protect their interest or protect themselves against any type of exploitation.
  • Prompt payment of bills – A consumer has an obligation to pay all their bills and clear the debts when they are due.
  • Protection of communication facilities –communication facilities like posters, bill boards and flyers to advertise their products should be protected by consumers.

Activity 10.1

Group work

  • Discuss and explain reasons why consumer responsibilities are important and why all consumers should adhere to them.
Responsibilities of employees

The main responsibilities of the employees include:

  • To personally do the work they are hired for.
  • To do their work carefully and seriously.
  • To avoid putting themselves or others in danger.
  • To follow their employer’s instructions.
  • To be loyal to their employees.
The main rights of employees include:
  • Fair pay for work that has been done, for example, good housing.
  • Reasonable working conditions.
  • Right to join, form or participate in trade unions.
  • Right to go on strike.
Responsibilities of employers

The main responsibilities of employers include:

  • Employers must give their employees a place to work and make sure they have access to it.
  • They must give employees proper tools and equipment needed to do their work.
  • They must make sure their employees working conditions are safe.
  • They must give their employees written notice that their contracts are ending or they are being laid off.
  • They must treat their employees with respect.
Rights of employers

Employers are also guaranteed the following rights:

  • Right to attend hearings related to a claim filed by the employees.
  • Right to seek administrative review of employment laws.
  • Right to form and join an employers’ organisation.
  • Right to participate in the activities of an employer’s organisation.
  • Activity 10.2
  • Group work

Q. Discuss the rights and responsibilities of an employee

Impact of national economy on consumers, employers and employees

National economy is a broad combination of individual, business and government spending or investment.

The government has to pay good attention to economic factors in order to measure the strength of its economy.

Impacts on consumers

Consumers play a major role in the economy hence any changes in the economy will have a great impact on them. The following are some of the impacts of national economy on consumers:

  • Consumer spending – A significant change in consumer spending behaviour highly depends on the state of national economy. For instance, lower spending may indicate a decrease in individual income while higher spending indicates an increase in the individual income.
  • Demand for products – In a situation where the price of goods is continuously increasing, the consumer’s demand for the goods will decrease. This will in turn affect the supply of products which will have a negative impact on the economic growth in general.
  • Dominance of foreign commodities – If the government is over relying on the imported goods, the locally produced goods will lack market and production firms will close down. This will force the consumer to purchase foreign goods which may be very expensive for them.
  • High taxation – Tax is the main source of government revenue. If the government wants to increase its revenue for economic development, then the tax will be raised. This will have an effect of an increase in the price of goods, thus, affecting consumption negatively.
  • Activity 10.3

Group work

Discuss the impact of the national economy on employees and employers?

Impacts on employees and employers

Employment and unemployment are the driving forces behind economic growth and stagnation.

Economic improvement has an impact on employment in the following ways.

  • Increased employment opportunities – Increase in employment opportunities provide chances for previously unemployed people to be employed. This reduces the idleness by many people and earns them income thus, improving the standards of living.
  • Increase in income paid to employees – Improvement in economy increases employees’ earnings leading to a higher rate of consumer spending which benefits businesses that depend on consumers.
  • Employees’ strikes – In a situation where the economy of a country negatively drops due to high inflation rate, the employees will demand for more wages so that they maintain their living standards through strikes and other industrial actions.
  • Economic retrenchment – Retrenchment is an act of an organisation or government reducing the number of workers because of the increased wage bill that it cannot afford to meet. This act happens in a situation where the state of economy is under decline and the government cannot meet higher wage bills.
Responsible consumerism

Consumerism is the continual expansion of one’s wants and needs for goods and services.

Responsible consumerism is the role that a consumer plays in helping the society to be more sustainable.

A responsible consumer can be seen through a variety of activities as indicated hereby:

  • He or she should stop or reduce excessive consumption of some products. This will ensure that the income saved can be used to other investment projects in the society.
  • He or she should support responsible companies which produces quality products and in accordance with the law. This can be through increasing the purchase of their products so that they feel encouraged.
  • Carrying out demonstration or picketing. A responsible consumer can carry out a peaceful demonstration against harmful products that are produced by a certain company. This will help in creating the awareness to the society to stop buying such products.
  • Consumer activism. This is an act of carrying out awareness activities about consumption of certain products through rallies or street walks. The activism will make other consumers aware of good quality or harmful products, thus deciding on which products to purchase.
  • Fair trade certification. He or she should purchase goods with the label of fair trade. The label is a guarantee that no forced labour was used in generating a product and employees were paid promptly and fairly.
  • Sustainable resources. He or she should ensure that the natural resources are well preserved for other generations to use.

Activity 10.4

Assignment work

Q. Write a short essay about responsible consumerism.

Effects of consumerism

Consumerism can have either positive or negative effects on the economy.

Positive effects
  • Creation of employment – Many people buy goods and services. Gross expenditure on the quality products increase leading to increased sales. Manufacturers of these goods will be forced to increase manpower, thus, leading to more employment opportunities.
  • Production of better products – The act of consumers only purchasing goods of good quality will compel the producers to produce better products to meet their customer’s needs. Lower quality products receive criticism from consumer and companies that sell them face the risk of being edged out of the market.
  • Better living standards – The availability of quality goods in the market improves one’s lifestyle as one can access better and more variable goods.
Negative effects
  • The decline of small industries

The existence of large industries with a strong financial base can lead to production of high quality goods and sell them at lower prices without making losses. This can lead to the closure of local industries which cannot meet such qualities.

Over-reliance on imports

In many countries people are willing to pay a higher price for established brands with high quality satisfaction. This leaves goods that are locally produced, hence frustrating local industries which at last get closed.

Ecological destruction

Excessive consumerism results in the construction of more factories and large scale urbanisation. This leads to a serious depletion of natural resources like forests and water bodies to create room for commercial development.

The environment is also polluted by factories, settlement and direct products being purchased.

A factory polluting the environment.

Activity 4.5

Group work

Q. Using the knowledge learned about consumerism, discuss the negatives and the positive effects of consumerism in South Sudan?

Labour law of South Sudan

The South Sudan transitional parliament passed the new labour bill in November 2017 in Juba.

Functions of the Bill

The labour bill protects the rights of workers in the country and provides guidelines for employment of foreigners.

The bill reserves exclusively for South Sudan national’s jobs such as vending, hawking, driving, office support works and other manual works.

There is a labour court established that will help to hear labour disputes in the country. The disputes may involve individuals with companies or individuals themselves.

The bill provides for employment inspection in South Sudan. This is to ensure that local citizens are allowed to work in the country and reduce foreign dominance in the labour market.

The bill also fosters the activities of trade unions since it gives the guideline on their formation.

The law contains some rights of workers in South Sudan. Some of these rights are:

  • Women employment – This bill protects women against employment in

dangerous areas for example where a lot of physical efforts are required.

  • Child labour – The law protects children against heavy work, exposure to poisonous or injuries and any other working conditions unfit for a child. The bill also prohibits employment of a child under the age of twelve.
  • Work contract – The law provides how the contract between employers and employees should be written, terms of contract and how the contract can be terminated.
  • Wages and salaries – The law states that workers’ wages and salaries should be paid in cash and this can be done daily, weekly or monthly depending on the agreement between the employer and employees.
  • Loans – The law allows the employer to lend their employees loans at a very low interest which should not exceed 15% of their basic interest.
  • Transport – An employer is supposed to transport the workers or pay transport expenses where they have been sent to work.
  • Statements of entitlement – The employer should at the termination of the contract provide the worker with detailed statement of entailment.

Activity 10.6

Group work

Q. Describe the impact of South Sudan economy on the local businesses

The impact of South Sudan economy to the local business
High dependency on imports

The South Sudanese economy is characterised by high rate of imported goods.

With foreign goods dominating the market local business like locally manufacturing industries will not improve since the market is flooded with foreign goods.

High levels of competition

The presence of many foreign business firms operating in the country has led to the facing out of local busineses since they cannot overcome the pressure of competition.

Poor infrastructure

South Sudan is facing the challenge of poor infrastructure. Thus poor infrastructure in terms of poor road networks has stressed the local business vendors to transport their goods to the market.

Low levels of personal income

Many of the south Sudanese citizens are earning very low income or even nothing at all. This has reduced the purchasing power, thus low demand for goods. Less demands for goods will affect the local business to thrive.

Lack of government subsidies and incentives

Lack or low level government subsidies and incentives like reduction of taxes on locally produced goods discourage many potential business investors.

High taxes

High taxes levied on locally produced goods discourage local investors. This is because the production process becomes expensive.

Glossary
  • Tangible–Something that can be touched and felt.
  • Intangible–Something that cannot be touched or felt.
  • Production–The act of making or creating goods.
  • Exploitation–The act of being misused or used in the wrong way.
  • Transaction–The process of exchange.
  • Adverse–Being unfavourable or hostile.
  • Warranty–Refers to an assurance attached to something or somebody.
  • Contract–It is an agreement between two or more parties.
  • Obligation–It is an act of binding oneself to something.
  • Stagnation–The state of not moving forward.
  • Inflation–An increase in price of goods and services.
  • Curbing–Stopping or dealing with.
Modifié le: lundi 12 janvier 2026, 17:12