'Teachers will not report for duty'

Sep 01, 2011

Teachers have vowed not to report back for work if their demand of 100% salary increment is not fulfilled.

By Taddeo Bwambale and Yasin Kintu

Teachers have vowed not to report back for work if their demand of 100% salary increment is not fulfilled.

“We, teachers, are saying we will not go to the classrooms until our demands are met. The government is shoving us into classrooms and we are putting our concerns before the public,” said Uganda National Teachers Union secretary general, Theopista Birungi.

She was speaking at a public dialogue on teachers’ welfare at Hotel Africana on Thursday. The event was convened by civil society organisations.

The Government on Wednesday ordered the teachers to report for duty when the school term opens on Monday or face sanctions.

Birungi accused the negotiation team of misrepresenting the teachers’ concerns, and the education minister, Jessica Alupo of presenting false information to Parliament on the status of their negotiations.

“UNATU has not been in agreement with Government’s proposal to postpone the increment of teachers’ salaries this financial year,” she said.

Currently, a primary school teacher earns sh260,000 on average per month, while secondary schools teachers get about sh450,000. There are about 152,682 teachers on the Government payroll in primary and secondary schools.

Besides salary increment, the teachers are demanding a review of their Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to sh260, 000; payment of allowances to science teachers as well as hardship allowances for deserving teachers.

The teachers also want the Government to release capitation grants to schools on time, implement the teachers’ scheme of service and operationalise the Public Service Negotiations, Arbitration and Disputes Settlement Act, 2006.

The Government last month proposed a 44% salary increment in which the minimum pay for civil servants would be raised to sh360,000 starting next financial year.

In effect, the lowest paid teacher would receive a 44% increment to about sh273,000. However, the teachers rejected the offer and insisted on a full pay.

According to Birungi, the Government argued that only sh50.7b was available in the national budget, but that reallocating it would destabilize the economy and cause uproar among other civil servants.

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