Parliament asked the government to create a sustainable salary enhancement plan for salaries of all categories of public officers.
In a motion passed on Thursday, the Legislators are demanding an enhancement plan with clear budgetary indications and timelines for its implementation.
The motion was presented to Parliament by the Chairperson of the Education Committee John Twesigye Ntamuhiira, after Speaker Anita Among tasked a five-member committee to draft a motion with resolutions on salary enhancement as it is in line with Article 40 (1) (b) of the 1995 Constitution.
The MPs urged the government to commence the implementation of the approved salary enhancement of the Arts teachers and primary teachers progressively.
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The task was jointly undertaken with the Public Service Committee Chairperson, Godfrey Onzima, Erute South MP Jonathan Odur, Shadow Minister of Education Brenda Nabukenya, and Workers representative, Agnes Kunihira.
MPs argued that the government needs to implement a salary enhancement plan for public officers and called for continuous engagement with the public service unions through negotiation, consultations, and participation during the process.
They added that the Ugandan constitution provides for equal treatment of all persons in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and for the enjoyment of equal protection of the law.
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The Chairperson of the Public Service Committee Godfrey Onzima said that it is important for the government to come up with a comprehensive plan that can be implemented considering that the initial plan failed.
“The initial agreement when it was tabled in the Committee of Public Service and Local Government was that this enhancement would be financed through funds that would be realized after rationalization of government agencies but along the way, we therefore thought that it would be important for the government to come up with a comprehensive plan,” said Onzima.
Jonathan Odur is optimistic that the resolutions will solve the repeated industrial actions.
Ndorwa County East MP, Hon. Wilfred Niwagaba, however, called for an amendment to the motion to order accounting officers to ensure that in implementing the Appropriation Act, there is non-discrimination, particularly when it comes to the payment of salaries of teachers.
“When we passed that Appropriation Act, we never included anything to do with discriminatory payment,” Niwagaba said.
The Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) on Monday called off their strike that had started on June 15, 2022, to compel the government to enhance their salaries with equity across the board.
The strike resulted from the government's decision to increase the pay for science teachers nearly by 300 percent.
