No pay rise for teachers, says ministry

Kampala

Despite a threat by teachers to go on strike, their demand for a pay rise cannot be met this financial year, the Education Ministry has said.

In an interview yesterday, the Education Under Secretary, Mr Aggrey Kibenge, said there was no provision for increment in wages in the budget. “A pay rise requires more resources which must be allocated by the budget,” he said. “Issues concerning wages and salaries for public servants are determined by the ministry of public service because it is the employer. As the ministry (of Education and Sports), we don’t review salary.”

Mr Kibenge was responding to a demand for a 30 per cent pay rise by secondary and primary school teachers. The teachers, through their umbrella body Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), last week resolved to go on strike starting July 22, over government’s failure to increase their salary. They gave government a two-week ultimatum to look into their grievances.

The threat to strike by teachers comes only a day after taxi drivers called off their strike and less than a week after traders went on strike over what they called government failure to curb economic crisis and falling value of the Shilling against the dollar.

Mr Kibenge advised the teachers to voice their concerns to the ministry in writing. “It is not necessary to lay down tools because while the work of teachers is appreciated, there are mechanisms in place for voicing their concerns,” he said.

Government last year gave teachers a 30 per cent pay rise but this was subjected to taxes. Teachers in Uganda have in the last several years stressed the need to increase their salaries in order for them to quality education and to enable them meet their needs.

During their meeting held last week in Kampala, the teachers complained that despite the ever soaring standards of living, their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has not been operationalised to date as a basis to improve their welfare.

“Teachers should have known by now if government had honoured what we called for under the CBA because that is the instrument through which a worker’s union formerly negotiates for salary increment,” said Ms Teopista Birungi, the General Secretary of UNATU.

Mr ABC Charicha, a teachers’ representative from Bukwo District, said teachers have not been able to meet their basic needs, leave alone invest. “Government has been promising heaven for teachers, but as we speak, teachers are living in dire poverty,” Mr Charicha said. Mr Charicha said that if government does not respond to the cry of teachers, they will not be able to perform efficiently.