By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
NATIONAL
The minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataha Museveni will on Friday 17th June, 2022 meet with the teachers’ union to discuss the way forward on the ongoing teachers’ strike, Parrots UG has learned.
This has been revealed by the minister for public service Hon. Muruli Mukasa while addressing journalists on teachers’ industrial action at Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
Teachers under their Umbrella, the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), on Tuesday (June 14) announced that they were laying down tools effective today June 15.
In an industrial action notice signed by the union’s Secretary General, Filbert Baguma Bates; to all teachers in all government schools and education institutions which Parrots UG seen, teachers are demonstrating against what they term as discriminatory salary enhancements.
“UNATU informs all members in every school and education institutions that the industrial action against discriminatory salary enhancements begins on Wednesday 15th June, 2022. Stay at home and mobilise others to act. All teachers matter and therefore deserve an increment,” read a statement by UNATU SG Filbert Baguma
At the reading of the budget on Tuesday, the minister of finance Matia Kasaija said that government enhanced salaries of scientists including science teachers, engineers, laboratory technicians among others by Sh495 billion in the FY 2022/23.
“The salaries of medical workers, scientists, and science teachers have
been enhanced by Shs. 495 billion. In addition to incentivizing scientists,
this will also help to improve functionality of education and health
facilities by addressing absenteeism and low morale of personnel,” Kasaija said on the reading of the National Budget at Kololo.
However, to teachers, the decision by government to increase science teachers’ salaries on the expense of their arts counterparts is discriminatory in nature and creates salary gaps amongst teachers yet they cover same work load. The teachers demand that government give equal pay to both science and arts teachers.
Minister Muruli says that government is ware of the teachers’ grievances but insists that gov’t does not have enough resources to increase salaries for all sectoral workers.
“The resources we have cannot cater for all the sectors for salary enhancements. But, government is committed to the plan of enhancing the pay of workers in phased manner depending on the availability of resources,” he said.
He reminded UNATU leadership of the previous discussions with the government urging them to remain patient meanwhile as government continues to implement the pay enhanvement plans.
Muruli has also appealed to teachers to return to class and teach advising them to ignore irresponsible talks that arts teachers are irresponsible.
“For the development of our country, we need both arts and science subjects. Anybody who takes part in divisive campaigns against arts teachers should be condemned.”
