Uganda’s Judiciary has confirmed increasing allowances for its drivers and other non-judicial staff to ensure that these employees take home over Shs1m every month, a figure above what the Museveni government pays each secondary school arts teacher.
The revelation came as the judiciary explained its staff welfare interventions after a driver complained of low pay in audio clips shared on social media. In the audios, Stanley Kisambaira, a driver at the country’s judiciary for about 15 years, expressed his dissatisfaction with the low salary he and his non-judicial colleagues were earning.
The judiciary has confirmed that Kisambira has been their driver since 2008 but dismissed his claims that he was attached to the Chambers of the Chief Justice.
Admitting that the approved salary for drivers “may be inadequate,” judiciary spokesperson Jamson Karemani has explained that the institution’s leadership took a decision to enhance the allowances of all non-judicial staff, including drivers, in line with CSI No.6 of 2018 on duty facilitation allowance.
Consequently, each driver now earns over Shs1m every month, according to Karemani.
“This was an intervention to facilitate the lower cadre of staff specifically non-judicial staff whose salaries have not been enhanced,” he said.
“As a result of the above intervention, each driver is paid a reasonable consolidated monthly allowance paid out on a quarterly basis. Added together with the salary, the total monthly payment for a driver is over one million shillings. These payments exclude duty facilitating allowances and operational funds which Mr. Kisambira refers to as OP in one of his audio recordings.”
All judiciary staff also benefit from health insurance services.
Karemani has now assured non-judicial staff such as drivers that the Judiciary is doing everything possible to ensure that they increase their salaries.
“While it is true that salaries of non-judicial staff in the Judiciary Service are low like for workers in other institutions, the Judiciary Management has made interventions as stated above to bridge that gap. In the meantime, the Management of Judiciary has reached out to Mr. Kisambira in an effort to guide him on how best his concerns ought to have been addressed,” he noted.
“This is to reassure all Staff of the Judiciary that everything is being done within the laid down legal precincts to further address their welfare concerns.”
In Uganda, a graduate secondary school arts teacher earns Shs800,000 as net salary. Government increased salaries of science teachers to Shs4m, leaving arts teachers complaining. Other government employees whose salaries were significantly increased are UPDF generals and prosecutors. (See Details Here, There and Over There).
In recent weeks, there has been debate on salaries, with medical consultants going on strike, and a bodyguard shot a Museveni minister. (See Details Here and There).
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