After failing to break through in a meeting between the striking arts teachers’ representatives and government, the Minister of Public Service, Muruli Mukasa, has again asked the teachers to go back to work.

Muruli in a letter dated June 30, 2022, to the chairman, Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), Zadok Tumuhimbise, said it amounts to sabotage for anybody to adamantly refuse to resume work on grounds that unless everybody is paid well now or everybody is democratically underpaid.

He argued that it’s better that the immediately needed scientists are paid adequately so that those crucial sectors are stabilized and continue expanding.

Muruli explained how the economy of Uganda recovered from being mismanaged to where it is now through growth in agriculture, industries services and ICT.

“This is how the government scientists including the science teachers come to be prioritized. The scientists are needed immediately otherwise our effort will collapse. Social scientists are fortunately also needed as managers and administrators but mainly in the private sector which can pay them well because each enterprise has a few of them,” Muruli said.

He said it’s not correct to argue that the arts teachers were neglected.

He said the government plans to enhance the salary pay of all its employees in the medium and long term as the resources become available.

“Enhancement of all teachers and others teachers in the public service shall be included in the medium and long term in accordance with the approved pay plan,” he said.

On Wednesday, the teachers’ representatives and government met but no major breakthrough was reached as government insisted that it had no money to enhance the arts teachers’ pay.

After the meeting, it was agreed that government and UNATU continue to keep their doors open to each other for further dialogue in the interests of have learning and teaching smoothly commence in all schools in Uganda as a matter of urgency.

Both parties agreed that learners lost a lot of time during Covid and therefore there was an urgent need to amicably end the industrial action.