A top official in President Yoweri Museveni’s government recently said there was a plan to increase arts teachers’ salaries but their union says no formal commitments have been made to them for the increment.
Since July 2022 when government decided to increase salaries of science teachers (teachers of science subjects), the arts teachers have been complaining, making threats to lay down their tools almost every financial year.
They have not given a notice for the start of an industrial action that could disrupt second term of the 2025 academic calendar.
The ultimatum came even when Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said government was considering raising the arts teachers salaries next financial year (which begins in July 2025) so that there could be some level of harmony with the salaries of science teachers (who earn way higher than their counterparts who teach humanities).
“You are aware that the science teachers who teach at secondary level, their salaries have been enhanced,” Nabbanja said while speaking at the centenary celebrations of Kinoni Integrated Primary School in Rwampara on May 03.
“And now His Excellency the President is prioritizing the arts [teachers] in the next financial year — once our resource envelope for the country improves.”
Such statements have been previously been made but not honored. Government has also previously been criticized for repeatedly parroting the argument that the salaries of teachers of arts would be raised when resources become available.
On May 05, Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers’ Union (UPHTU), wrote to Kedrace Turyagyenda, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports, with a reminder of the arts teachers’ Intended industrial action scheduled to start on June 06, 2025.
“Reference is hereby made to the letter we wrote to public service dated 5/03/2025 and copied to you indicating that we shall be laying down our tools on 6 /06/2025 if our salary enhancement is not worked upon,” wrote Alex Oragire Kworagire, the deputy general secretary and Teopista Akello, the acting president of Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers Union.
“Since then, we have only received an invitation to public service who promised to involve you in the negotiation for salary enhancement. It is now a full month and there is no any feedback yet.”
Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers Union leaders have warned that if the money for the increment of arts teachers’ salaries is not included in the budget for the 2025-2026 financial year, they will be no option left for them but to suspend their work.
“The letter serves to remind you that come 6/06/2025, we shall be laying our tools down as planned if the government does not take serious action towards enhancing our salaries so as to address the disparities in the next financial year of 2025/2026 budget estimates,” union leaders further wrote.
Meanwhile, the discriminatory increment of salaries made some science teachers rush to retire early so as to get juicy retirement packages, threatening to cause a crisis in the education sector. (See Details Here and There).
It should be remembered that government has also promised to increase salaries of all civil servants, as reported Here.
You can see the salary structure for the current financial year showing how much each government employee category earns every month Here.
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