Lecturers and tutors in public universities under their umbrella body Forum for Academic Staff of Public Universities in Uganda (FASPU) have threatened to resume the strike over what they call unfair salary enhancement in remuneration of university staff.
In a letter issued on 20th June 2022, and copied to the ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Gender, Makerere University and all other public universities in Uganda, FASPU notifies academic staff about resumption of their industrial that action suspended a year ago, if salary enhancement to the agreed targets is not addressed in the next Financial year 2022/2023.
On February 6, 2021 the academic staff in public universities resolved to go on industrial action challenging the unfair salary structure when government enhanced salaries for Vice Chancellors, Deputy Vice Chancellors, professors and Associate Professors which they said was discriminative against other academic staff including Senior lecturers, Lecturers, Assistant lecturers and teaching assistants.
The strike was later suspended in March 2021 following a series of engagements between PASPU leadership and the Ministry of Public service, Vice Chancellors of public universities, the Ministry of Education, and Workers’ MPs over the matter, in which it was resolved that 223BN be included in the 2022/2023 national budget to meet 100% agreed pay target for academic staff in public universities.
The letter refers to a request by government in 2021 to convince all academic staff in public universities receive and teach final year students amid COVID-19 pandemic threat, on promise that their demand to address the unfair salary enhancement was being addressed.
The letter also states that though the PS Ministry of Education requested in writing on May 3, 2022 requesting provision of additional UGX.223BN to cater for the lecturers’ salary enhancement, the figure is not reflected in the budget which was read on June 4, 2022.
“..Therefore more than a year later, the unfair salary enhancement that triggered the industrial action has been ignored, and the presidential directive on equitable salary enhancement of all academic staff has been defied.” the letter signed by Tom Omute Chairperson FASPU and nine (9) other university staff organization reads in part.
The FASPU leaders say their members have been patient as the salary enhancement injustice continues to negatively affect them in many ways for example, staff promotions have been undermined because of huge salary differences, affecting their career growth. They now ask government to intervene in this matter and resolve it once and for all.
According to resolutions from the meeting of FASPU Executive on January 8, 2021 a salary of a professor was to be enhanced to UGX.15Million starting February 6, 2021 as per the 2015 directive from President Yoweri Museveni.
The threat of an impending strike comes at a time when teachers under Uganda National Teacher’s Union UNATU are on strike protesting a decision by government to enhance salaries of Science teachers in secondary Schools and higher institutions of learning leaving behind the Arts teachers.
According to the planned pay rise, Science teachers will be receiving between UGX.3Million and UGX.4Million while Arts teachers will get UGX.700,000 and 1.3Million every month starting July this year. UNATU contends that teachers at different levels should receive a uniform pay as the disparity in salaries will cause disharmony and conflicts among staff in education institutions.