Makerere staff ordered to teach or face dismissal

What you need to know:

  • Determined. The university staff say they are committed to using all the legal means available to defend the rights of all members.

KAMPALA. Having failed to come up with an amicable solution to the ongoing impasse between the staff and management at Makerere University, the university authority has directed striking staff to return to class and teach or face dismissal.
In a circular dated February 5, the Makerere human resource director, Mr Andrew Abunyang, directed all the college principals, directors, deans and heads of department to conduct a head count of all the staff to identify those who abscond for further action.
“All staff who will not have reported for duty by 8am on Wednesday February 6 [yesterday] will be considered to have absconded from duty and their case will be handled in accordance with the applicable laws and policies,” the letter reads in part.
The Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, confirmed to Daily Monitor yesterday that those who abscond face dismissal.
“The only penalty we have in our human resource manual on staff who abscond from work is penalty so the staff know what to do,” Prof Nawangwe said in a telephone interview.
According to the Section 5.79(d) of the Makerere University Human Resource Manual, the power to dismiss an employee shall be vested in the appointing authority on staff who commit both gross misconduct and gross neglect of duty.
Towards the end of last year, Makerere University appointments board sacked 27 out of 45 staff who abscond from work.

Staff respond to threats
The three staff associations, including Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa), Makerere Administrative Association (Masa), and the National Union of Industrial Employment (NUIE) however hit back at the institution’s management, asking them to address their demands rather than resorting to what they called threats.
The letter signed by the vice chairperson of Muasa, Mr Edward Mwavu, the vice chairperson of Masa, Ms Sarah Wegosasa, and the NUIE chairperson, Mr Bruce Twesigye, the staff insist that their strike is legal and they stand by their action.
“We wish to assure the entire university that laying down our tools is both a constitutional and legal right under Article 40 of the 1995 Constitution and other laws. We call upon everybody to remain calm and not to be intimidated,” the letter reads in part.
“We are committed to using all the legal means available to defend the rights of all our members. Equally on the part of the association leaders, we are committed to dialogue within the three days and once we receive the communication regarding our resolution, we shall make appropriate decisions,”
The strike kicked off three weeks ago after Prof Nawangwe suspended Muasa chairperson Deus Kamunyu, Masa chairperson Bennet Magara and his general secretary Joseph Kalema.
The staff have since vowed to continue with their strike until the suspension of the above leaders is lifted.
The manager communication and international relations, Mr Muhammad Kiggudu, said the heads of department informed management that the majority of staff have turned up for lectures.
He said they were informed that some colleges such as Health Science, Technology, Engineering and Art are teaching normally, and partial teaching at Humanities and Social Sciences and College of Education.
He, however, said there are no lectures at the School of Law and Agriculture college but that everything will normalise by Monday next week.