President Yoweri Museveni has instructed the Vice President, H.E Jessica Alupo to meet teachers on strike tomorrow Wednesday.
This is contained in a June 28 letter by Alex Kakooza, the Principal Private Secretary to the Vice President to the Secretary General, Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU).
“I have been requested to invite you for a meeting with H.E the Vice President to discuss ways of ending the ongoing strike by the teachers,” writes Kakooza.
“The meeting will take place on Wednesday 29th June, 2022 at the Office of the President Committee Room at 10am,” he adds.
This news website has independently established that the leadership of the National Organisation of Trade Unions – NOTU) has also been invited to take part in the meeting.
Teachers earlier this month declared a nationwide strike at all levels demanding equality and harmonization of the salary enhancement among teachers of different subjects, support staff, and school administrators.
The strike follows the government’s decision to increase the salaries of science teachers up to 4 million shillings and disregard the art teachers.
A meeting between UNATU leadership and the President at State House, Entebbe, last week over the same did not solve the matter, when UNATU immediately after the meeting announced that their industrial action was still on.
Government would later direct the striking arts teachers to return to class by Thursday June 30 or get sacked.
This latest development comes just hours after another invitation of UNATU leadership by the Ministry of Public Service for talks aiming at resolving the standoff.
“This is therefore to invite you and four of your Union Executive Members for a meeting with the Ministry of Public Service on Friday 1st July, 2022 at 2:00pm in the Ministry Boardroom. The meeting will focus on issues raised for the industrial action,” reads a letter by Catherine Bitarakwate, the PS Ministry of Public Service dated June 27th to UNATU General Secretary.
It is not clear where tomorrow’s meeting with the Vice President leaves that of Friday with Public Service.
In an interview with Baba Television on Tuesday morning, Filbert Baguma, the SG UNATU said that no amount of threat will invigorate teachers to backtrack from their industrial action.
“I want to encourage the teachers to withstand the intimidations and threats. We are in a democratic country and therefore democracy prevails. This is the government of the people,” Baguma said.
“Threats of deleting you from public service when you are legally fighting and demanding for your rights do not hold water and I want to caution those who are intimidating teachers that they are only making the bad situation worse, forcing a teacher to class does not tantamount to teaching”
“Therefore, teachers should get there issues resolved, they agree and go back to back to class and they are even read to compensate for the time lost,” he added.
When reminded about the June 30 deadline for government to crack a whip on striking teachers, Baguma said: “That deadline is not legally backed.”
He said teachers will only return to work when government convincingly fixed the issues they have raised.
“We have not bowed and we are not going to bow to pressure. Pressure doesn’t solve what we have tabled. We will go back to class provided we get our issues resolved,” Baguma said.
This is not the first time that teachers under UNATU have laid down their tools over salary enhancements.
In 2011, they organized a sit-down strike requesting a 100 percent salary increment. Other requests included an increase in the science allowance, an increase in capitation awards, and the delivery of the data on time.
The then Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi pledged a progressive increase over three financial years. That year, the government committed to meet half of the requests but failed to lead to additional industrial action.
Later, the government pledged a three-phased salary rise for the next three fiscal years. 15 percent, 20 percent, and 15 percent would be the three installments of the increase.
The first phase was paid in the 2012/13 Financial Year and science teachers in post-primary education and training institutions received a 30 percent increase.
However, because the money was not included in the 2013/14 budget year, the government defaulted on the 20%, which led to a strike in August 2013, with the government claiming there was no money.
UNATU which maintains it is still open to talks with the government has also drafted a pay increase plan for all teachers and other employees.
However, because the money was not included in the 2013/14 budget year, the government defaulted on the 20%, which led to a strike in August 2013, with the government claiming there was no money.
UNATU which maintains it is still open to talks with the government has also drafted a pay increase plan for all teachers and other employees.