Teaching and Non teaching staff in Public universities across the country have threatened not open for the second semester of the 2018/2019 Academic year, pointing at the empty government promises to clear their salary arrears.
This resolution was announced during a joint press conference that was held at Makerere University yesterday, Monday 3rd December.
Speaking at the press conference, Mr Grace Lubaale who is the chairperson of the Forum for Academic Staff for public universities asserted that government promised to remit shillings 58 billion in their salary enhancement for the 2017/2018 financial year but there are no signs of this happening anytime soon as the financial year reaches its mid point.
He also told journalists that after several negotiations and meetings with the Minister of Education, Ms. Janet Museveni and officials from other ministries, the two parties resolved that the staff will be paid shillings 29 billion first and the rest later which is also not yet received.
” The Minister of Education assured us that this money was going to be cleared in 2017/2018 financial year but despite all these assurances we have not seen any tangible progress of receiving the money.”
He concluded his speech saying that they have announced this industrial action a bit early enough so as to give the government and all the concerned parties ample time to solve their grievances before the semester which is scheduled to start in January.
In the same lines, The Makerere Academic Staff Association (MUASA) Chairperson, Mr Deus Kamunyu also accused government for not following up on their pledge that was made in 2015. He says that they will put down tools come January 2019 of their salary arrears are not settled.
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