President Yoweri Museveni has asked teachers to call off their industrial action as the Government is committed to giving civil servants good remuneration.

“In principle, we shall pay everybody well, but as of now, let us concentrate on one aspect. Don’t tell me about this industrial action. Go and work. Our aim is to pay civil servants well,” he said on Saturday while meeting members of the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU).

Flanked by the First Lady, who is also the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, the President met the union leaders at State House, Entebbe. Apart from UNATU leaders, several ministers attended the meeting.

These were Muruli Mukasa of public service, Dr. Joyce Kaducu of state for primary education, and Attorney General Kiwanuka Kiryowa.

The other top officials were Ministry of Public Service permanent secretary Catherine Bitarakwate, UNATU national chairperson Zadock Tumuhimbise, and Patrick Muhereza.

Sources revealed that President Museveni told UNATU leaders that the Government is committed to increasing the pay of all civil servants, but priority should go to science teachers as they are critical in the development and transformation of Uganda.

Commenting on the issues raised by teachers in a memo read by UNATU secretary general Filbert Baguma, the President assured arts teachers that they were not being discriminated against as they are equally important.

The President said, for now, the focus should first be on science teachers, who are much needed for the growth and expansion of the economy.

“We are not discriminating. Your line of discrimination is a wrong one,” he said, according to a release from State House.

President Yoweri Museveni

The President said three-quarters of the economy revolve around sciences — agriculture, ICT, and services shared in the medical and entertainment industry.

He appealed to teachers not to disrupt the Government’s plans of strengthening the economy through the development of infrastructure, but instead to continue discussions with the relevant ministries and stakeholders in order to strike a win-win over a pay rise.

“I don’t accept the idea of scattering resources. Negotiate new targets, not deadlines. Your disruptive plans are not acceptable. It is not correct. We shall not stop implementing our plans,” he said.

The President cited IT engineers who have to monitor activities in the telecommunication sector, which is a source of revenue for the Government. The President dismissed as incorrect, the argument that art teachers are comedians and of no value.

He said such an argument is an ignorant one. Mrs. Museveni told the UNATU leadership that as a family, they should sit down and solve any challenges amicably.
She said the Government has been playing its role in pay rise since 2016 and is continuing to be faithful.

Mrs. Museveni added that teachers are disciples supposed to teach patriotism. “Leaders are supposed to be light on the hill,” she counseled.

“This year, salary enhancement for teachers has been done. The Government decided to start with scientists, then later come back for the rest of the civil servants. Teachers are supposed to be patriotic; to shepherd little children. They are supposed to nurture them into upright citizens and teachers must be the light on the hill.”

Muruli Mukasa assured teachers that the window for further discussions with all the stakeholders is still open.

In his memo, Baguma stated that UNATU was not trying to disrupt the President’s grand plan for the scientists, but they were asking for a modification to ensure that there is harmony in teaching and learning. He also expressed concern over the disparity in the revised salaries.

“In all fairness, what would your reaction be on hearing that Government has increased the salary of your counterpart in the staffroom by over 300% and deliberately ignored you because you teach in a different education sub-sector/subject area? You have the same qualifications or even higher, have similar or even more teaching experience, handle the same or even greater workload than your counterpart,” Baguma said.

“How fair is an increment of over 300% for science teachers against nothing for other categories of teachers? These same teachers have been earning a 30% scientists allowance above all other teachers since 2012.

Enhancing their salaries to the tune of 3-5 times more than their counterparts, who are not getting a coin, is not only unfair and unjust, but it also contravenes the constitutional provision that is clear on the right to equal pay for equal work without discrimination,” he said.

Baguma said in some schools and other educational institutions, teachers have separated staffrooms into arts and sciences because of selective enhancement of salaries.

In the budget speech last Tuesday, finance minister Matia Kasaija said sh900b had been allocated to the enhancement of salaries of scientists across the board, including science teachers, in line with the presidential directive.

As per the directive, effective July 1, all non-medical graduates will earn sh4m and medical graduates sh5m.

However, according to UNATU, the selective enhancement of teachers’ salaries contradicted the collective bargaining agreement agreed upon in 2018 between the Government and the public service unions, culminating in a five-year pay enhancement plan.

In protest, UNATU on Tuesday issued a statement demanding all their members to lay down tools, effective June 15, in a bid to push the Government to also consider arts teachers for salary enhancement.

Science teachers speak out

Some science teachers interviewed yesterday expressed gratitude to the Government for enhancing their salaries in the 2022/2023 budget.

At a media briefing in Kampala, the chairperson of Uganda National Professional Science Teachers Union (UNPST), Vincent Elong, cautioned UNATU against using them as a bargaining tool with the Government.

He called on their members to remain calm, saying UNATU was proposing the sharing of the money allocated for their salary enhancement with arts teachers.

Aaron Mugaiga, the general secretary of UNPST, advised UNATU that instead of suggesting sharing the money, they should push the Government for a supplementary budget to cater to art teachers’ salary enhancement.