By Our Reporter
Staff representatives from public universities have today agreed and resolved to start a nationwide strike at the beginning of semester two in January next year.
Reading the meeting resolution, Dr. Grace Rubare the chairperson, forum for academic staff association and public universities non teaching staff executive from Mbarara, Gulu, Makerere, Kyambogo, Busitema, MUBS, Lira, Muni, Kabale and Soroti universities will not report on duty until the UGX.29bn and UGX.4.3 Billionn is paid.
The money is meant to cater for salary enhancement for both teaching and non teaching staff which was promised to them by the president.
Hon. David Bahati and Muluri Mukasa wrote letter to the association urging them to call of their earlier planned strikes giving govt’s commitment to pay off their arias in April 2017 and July 2018 respectively.
Now the teaching and and support staff are saying no to stepping in lecturer rooms starting January which kicks off the second semester at all public universities.
The president of Uganda, H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni promised that professors should earn UGX.15 million in the salary enhancement which was to be effected in financial year 2015/16. Ministry of finance didn’t comply as it said, the money would be paid in installment which has not been fulfilled.
With UGX.58 billion now still hanging with government, lecturers and support staff are also engaging the gear to remind government to fulfill its promised made to them through the planned strike slated for January next year (2019).
Since the leadership of the former MUSA chairperson, Dr. Tang Odoi who is now the National Resistance Movement electoral commission chairperson, teaching and none teaching staff have been reminding government of salary enhancement. At one time, the academia seem to have won the battle when they met the president following a massive nationwide strike which polarized business at various public universities in the country, and now it seems they battle was tactically won by government and now the university workers are ready to resurrect it again.
The resolution was reached upon in a heated meeting held today at Makerere university main building.
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