A salaries commission will stop the industrial action by public servants

By Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba (BA, MSc, MBA, PhD)

In 2009, our consulting firm: - REEV Consult International, was contracted by the Ministry of Public Service to conduct two assignments: 

1) Conduct a staff survey and establish the number of public servants, ascertain their welfare status and establish their performance as compared to other countries in the region and globally; 

2) Produce a policy paper for transformation of Uganda Public Service. This project was successfully conducted and the results clearly showed that Ugandan public servants were demotivated as manifested in absenteeism and abysmal performance which largely emanated from two major elements namely; 

1. Poor pay; it was established that the remuneration of civil servants was far below what would have been the minimum living wage.

The implication was that many public servants across the various pay structure-U1-U7 could not afford basic means of subsistence such as descent food, clothing, health care, school fees for children to mention but a few. 

For us as Makerere University Academic Staff, our plight is well known and our long battles with government right from 1989 up-to the present, have focused on a minimum living wage, but this has up to now eluded the staff of these very important engines of growth - universities and other tertiary Institutions.

There have been a series of industrial action-downing of tools and the results have been disruptive including abrupt closure of universities where students have suffered due to lack of preparation for the unexpected and abrupt closures.

2. Discriminatory remuneration; - one of the thorns in the flesh of many civil servants is discrimination in salary structures.

You find that in a given government institution, a person with the same qualification and experience (or even more experienced) earns 1/50 as compared to his/her counterpart in the same government institution.

Both employees receive their pay from the same consolidated fund and yet, there are gross differences in pay structure. 

Such discrimination in remuneration breeds resentment among the same civil servants, which if it continues unabated result into industrial action as already manifested among the judicial officers, teachers and health workers. 

The latter have already issued their notice to government-fortunately early enough for the government not to be taken unaware.

Imagine what will happen to patients if the health workers downs their tools as if the suffering of the people in prisons across the country as a result of the strike by state prosecutors is not enough.

Back to my assignment as a National Consultant for the Ministry of Public service on the transformation of the Uganda Public Service; after careful analysis of the performance of the Ugandan Public Service, I made the following conclusions.

1. There was gross under remuneration of public servants. The existing salaries for many staff is not a living wage - it cannot enable them to ensure minimum basic needs namely food, shelter, clothing, school fees of their children to mention but a few. 

2. In as much as the remuneration is low, it is discriminatory. Some civil servants earn much high than others without any reason. Basing on our detailed analysis of the status and performance of civil servants. The following recommendation was made: 

Establishment of a salaries commission;- The proposed mandate of the salaries commission would be to ensure the harmonization of the remuneration across a whole spectrum of civil servants in Uganda.

I proposed that the salaries commission be based on the principle of "Equal pay for work of equal value." The implication is that all civil servants would be treated equitably.

This would enhance motivation as each civil servant would serve the country, well knowing that they are all treated respectfully and in the same way. As the Baganda say in their old adage; "boona baana, tewali baana na byaana".

The reality is that indiscriminate remuneration of civil servants across the civil service breeds bitterness and "knock-on- effects" as we are already witnessing.

If one category of civil servants is remunerated much higher than others, then, you are fomenting resentment and bitterness as those who are paid less may consider themselves as "second class citizens".

The contradiction is that both those who are paid less and those who are remunerated highly purchase their goods and services from the same market. "Equal pay for work of equal value" would ensure fairness, enhance motivation of civil servants and avoid "knock-on-effects" in the various public institutions. The writing is clear on the wall.

The writer is consultant on economic transformation