University staff demand arrears in January payment circular

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Staff at nine public universities in Uganda have asked the Ministry of Public Service to release a pay structure detailing a plan for their promised enhanced salaries.

They say that the structure must include the outstanding salary enhancements balance of Sh29.5 billion which was never honored in the financial year 2017/2018.

According to them, this is part of the 2015 promise to Public University staff by the government. As per a presidential pledge, a professor is supposed to have reached 15-million Shillings salary by 2019/2020. This was, however, to be achieved in a phased manner. As of today, one financial year to the agreed deadline, a professor in a public university earns between 8-9 million Shillings.

In a statement Delivered during the 15th graduation ceremony of Kyambogo University this week, President Yoweri Museveni reiterated government’s commitment to improving remuneration of professors and other categories of staff to match employees in other government agencies and parastatals. The president said that in order to have academicians who are well motivated and innovative, it was inevitable to remunerate them well.

But the chairperson of the Forum for Academic Staff of Public Universities in Uganda Dr Grace Lubaale told Uganda Radio Network in an interview on Sunday that while they welcome the president’s commitment, they are yearning for the reality in terms of money.

Dr Lubaale, however, says that they will ride on this commitment to lobby for the remaining 154 billion Shillings to be provided in the next financial year in order to bring a professor to the agreed pay.

The Chairperson of Makerere University Academic Staff Association Dr Deus Kamunyu Muhwezi told URN that it will be hard to convince association members if the promise is not fulfilled in January 2019. He, however, hastens to add that the planned January strike will not be necessary if there is such an affirmation to include the 29.5 billion Shillings on the pay structure.

Earlier this month, academic and non-academic staffs from the nine public universities in Uganda announced that they will be withdrawing their labour effective January 2019 once this money is not provided.

According to Dr Kamunyu, the staff association’s leaders are currently under pressure from their members to ensure that the government delivers its promise.
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