Shs4m or We Won’t Step in Class Again: Arts Teachers Insist on Strike Starting Next Week

Ugandan secondary school arts teachers have insisted on striking next week if the government does not include money to raise their salaries in the budget for the 2025-2026 financial year.

The three-month ultimatum the arts teachers under their umbrella body, Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers Union (UPHTU), expires next week.

Notices sent to teachers weeks ago indicate that the industrial action demanding equal pay for arts teachers with their science counterparts will start on June 06, 2025.

“Let the teachers inform the students, and the students inform the parents, that the parents should inform bishops, sheikhs, pastors and leaders in government that teachers of humanities/arts starting 6 June 2025 [will start their] industrial action,” a notice seen by The Pearl Times reads in part.

Days ago, The Pearl Times has learnt, teachers under UPHTU held meetings across all regions of Uganda to discuss the National Executive Committee (NEC) decision for all government arts teachers to lay down their tools starting June 06.

All regional UPHTU chapters have upheld the decision of NEC to start industrial action next week, this publication has been told.

The National Executive Committee of UPHTU held a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Public Service who promised to further discuss the matter with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, as well as that of Education and Sports.

But top UPHTU leaders say that up to now they have not received any positive feedback on the raising of their salaries by the same government which increase the pay of a graduate science teacher to Shs4m monthly starting July 2022.

The arts teachers under UPHTU say they also want their salaries increased to Shs4m for graduate teachers every month and to Shs2m for a diploma teacher.

They argue that an angry and hungry teacher will not be able to deliver well in class, something they argue will disadvantage learners in government secondary schools under the the Universal Secondary Education (USE).

They also say their current pay is too low to help them meet their needs, including paying fees for their own children.

They also note that they are tired of the government telling them they will increase their salaries in a phased manner yet there is no clear plan to do so for three years now.

It should be remembered that Museveni government says there is no money to increase arts teachers’ salaries as things stand now, with Museveni telling arts teachers that ‘Shakespeare’s plays.’ (See Details Here, and There).

The Pearl Times has also reported about an alleged plan by Museveni’s government to cut the salaries of science teachers after failing to increase salaries of their arts counterparts. (See Details Here and There).

You can see the full salary structure showing how much each government employee category earns every month, as well as the list of Uganda’s most highly paid government employees Here and There.

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