Govt petitioned over new salary structures

Minister Mutuuzo (second right) marching during the World Day for Safety and Health at Work in Kampala. Photo by Ronnie Kijjambu

Trade unions have implored the Government to delay the implementation of the recently released new salary structures to allow in their submissions.

Under their umbrella, the National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU), they faulted the Government for taking decisions on the salaries of workers, without consulting them.

While addressing their concerns to the State Minister for Gender and Culture, Peace Mutuuzo, they vowed to oppose the new salary structures, rejecting them as discriminatory.

This was during the occasion to mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work hosted at CHOGM Gardens in Kampala on Saturday.

Supported by several companies such as Umeme, CocaCola, Eskom, Kampala Capital City Authority and NOTU, and under the theme, Occupational Safety and Health Enterprise Development and Competitiveness, the event intended as build-up to national Labour Day celebrations.

Moses Mauku, who represented NOTU, revealed that they were planning proposals to be presented to the Government as an alternative to how the issue of enhancement of salaries should be handled, to the benefit of all civil servants.

"The modality government used was not acceptable; we must be part of the discussions about the employment terms, but not for the government to think for us. Soon a report of how we want things to be done will be out," he said.

The new structures set to be operationalised in July when the financial year 2018/19 starts, medical workers, scientists, post primary science teachers, lower ranks of the Police, Prisons, UPDF, legal professionals and local government political leaders would eat big.

Presenting the national budget estimates for the financial year 2018/19, finance minister Matia Kasaija said the Government had provided sh525b to cater for salary enhancement.

However, he did not present the details of the enhancement, saying they had already been communicated to the accounting officers to effect in the draft budget estimates for the financial year 2018/19.

Addressing an emergency meeting on the matter recently, NOTU secretary general, Christopher Werikhe, blamed the Government of lack of fairness when it announced the new salaries without consulting them as representatives of workers.

"This is intended to undermine workers and their trade unions and this must be resisted with all energies of various unions put together," he added.

He added that salaries must be negotiated for between the Government and trade unions, deeming it wrong for the Government to create an impression that it is doing workers and trade unions a favour.

The Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) has also dismissed the proposed salary of some teachers, leaving out others.

UNATU general secretary, Filbert Bates Baguma, fears that the move may result into an education crisis in Uganda if implemented in such a discriminative manner. 

In response, Mutuuzo said government was faced with many priorities that ranged from extracting of oil and other minerals from the ground, to the possibility of the country building its own expatriates.

She said emphasis on science was intended to train more people and rescue the country from brain drain through improved remuneration.

Mutuuzo said expenses of hiring expatriates to undertake key projects such as oil drilling, mineral extraction, construction of dams and railway lines was becoming costly.

Mutuuzo meanwhile announced that the Government was in the process of revising the regulatory framework on safety and health at workplaces.

According to the International Labour Organisation, an estimated 4% of gross domestic product in Uganda is lost due to accidents and work-related diseases.

"This is unacceptable in the present times if we are to attain middle income status by 2020," Mutuuzo said.