Education minister Janet Museveni has called leaders of arts teachers for a meeting after their strike over discriminatory salary increment paralysed learning in government schools on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.
Public Service minister Wilson Muruli Mukasa told journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday that Ms Museveni will meet members of Uganda National Teachers Union on Friday, June 17, 2022 to resolve the issue.
“We are therefore asking striking teachers to return to class and teach our innocent children as government works on their salary enhancement,” he said.
The minister added that the planned salary enhancement of all teachers is on course subject to availability of resources.
Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) in a June 11 letter signed by the Union’s general secretary, Filbert Baguma, laid down tools over what they describe as proposed discriminatory salary enhancement.
He asked the government to implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) without discrimination.
“A notification was given to government on May 23 expressing our intention to resume our industrial action if they insist on implementing a discriminatory salary enhancement for teachers as opposed to honouring commitments made in our CBA signed on June 22, 2018. Regrettably to date, no positive response has been received,” the UNATU leaders said in the statement.
Meanwhile, the strike has paralysed learning in government schools across the country. Pupils of Spire Road Primary School in Jinja City were seen going back home after teachers failed to conduct classes due to the countrywide teachers’ strike.
Almost all primary schools in Tororo have closed, and learners have been sent back home. The situation was more of the same in government secondary schools. Even where students and teachers turned up, not much was happening.
In Mbarara city, several teachers have not reported for duty. While on a fact-finding mission, the city’s Resident Commissioner, Col. James Mwesigye, was notified by school heads of the low turnout of teachers, especially those on the government payroll.
Teachers of St Joseph Primary School Kiyimbwe in Masaka District were pictured this morning playing cards during class time.
Pupils of Moyo Girls Primary School in Moyo District were seen walking back home this morning after they were told that there were no classes because teachers were on strike over salary increment.
