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Inside deal that ended science teachers strike
Ministry of Education public relations officer Dr Dennis Mugimba (left) with UPSTU general secretary Aron Mugaiga (right) and other science teachers at the media centre in Kampala recently. PHOTO / JANE NAFULA
What you need to know:
- At a press conference held with officials from the Ministry of Education officials at the media centre yesterday, the top leadership of the Uganda Professional Science Teachers Union (UPSTU) announced that they had called off the strike after receiving a letter from the government committing to implement the presidential directive.
Science teachers, who laid down their tools at the beginning of the second term protesting against the alleged failure by the government to enhance their salary as directed by the President, have now agreed to resume work.
At a press conference held with officials from the Ministry of Education officials at the media centre yesterday, the top leadership of the Uganda Professional Science Teachers Union (UPSTU) announced that they had called off the strike after receiving a letter from the government committing to implement the presidential directive.
“On May 18, we received a letter from the Ministry of Public Service, indicating that the salaries of scientists, including science teachers, would be enhanced with effect from July of 2022/2023 financial year,” UPSTU’s national chairman Vincent Elong said.
He added: “ In the letter, the government did not commit itself to how much should be given because they are still sorting out the issue of extra funding from the Ministry of Finance and they have told us that by Monday, they will have the final Cabinet meeting to conclude on that, and that is why we had to suspend the industrial action.”
Last week, the Minister of Information, Communication, and Technology and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said a Cabinet meeting that was chaired by the President had re-affirmed that salaries for scientists, including the science teachers, would be enhanced with effect from July 1.
Dr Baryomunsi revealed that about Shs735 billion had been earmarked in the budget to cater for the proposed pay rise for scientists and urged the striking teachers to go back to work.
However, the teachers demanded that the commitment be put in writing, claiming that verbal promises had in the past not yielded anything.
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Speaking yesterday, the UPSTU general secretary, Mr Aron Mugaiga, said the government has agreed to fulfill most of their pressing demands, including salary enhancement, reinstating professional allowances for science headteachers and their deputies that had been scrapped in 2019 under unclear circumstances.
Although the union members declined to share with the media a copy of the letter from the Ministry of Public Service, Mr Mugaiga also noted that the government had agreed to harmonise the salaries for school laboratory technicians and their assistants, with those of their counterparts in the medical field.
“Laboratory technicians in institutions of learning earn Shs300,000 per month while their counterparts in the medical field earn about Shs600,000 in addition to a monthly allowance of Shs300,000. We are glad that the government has agreed to harmonise this,” Mr Mugaiga said.
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Members of the union, however, said they were giving the government up to June 13 to address their issues but threatened to lay down their tools again if the commitment is not effected.
