Makerere University staff have decided to call off their impending strike, scheduled to start this week, after deliberations with university management and government officials. The decision to halt the industrial action was announced in a joint statement by the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa), Makerere Academic Staff Association (MASA), and the National Union of Education Institutions (NUEI).
Last week, these staff associations had declared their intention to strike, citing the university's failure to align their salaries with those of staff in other public universities. Their key concern was the government's alleged neglect of their long-standing issues. Despite Vice Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe's plea to the parliamentary committee on education and sports for urgent funds to address the salary disparities, the staff remained unconvinced.
Muasa chairman Dr. Robert Kakuru expressed skepticism, stating that the issue had been presented to parliament last year without any resulting allocation of funds. However, despite the looming threat of a strike, there were no visible signs of disruption when our reporter visited the university, and operations continued as usual.
In an interview with the media, Vice Chancellor Nawangwe acknowledged the existing salary discrepancies and explained that a harmonization exercise had been completed last year, proposing a figure of Shs 12 billion. However, these funds were only approved after the adoption of the 2023/2024 budget. The Public Service ministry assured that the allocated funds would be incorporated in the 2024/2025 financial year budget.
Nawangwe appealed to the staff to reconsider their strike plans and allow the university management and council to continue engaging with parliament and other government agencies to resolve the matter.
In a joint letter signed by the chairpersons of Muasa, MASA, and NUEI, the staff associations resolved to call off the strike temporarily, giving the government an ultimatum. The letter demanded the inclusion of UGX 12,636,589,200 in the 2024/2025 budget for the harmonization of salaries to prevent the underpayment of staff members.
The letter further stated, "If the above resolution is not fully implemented, all staff (academic, administrative, and support) shall withdraw their labour effective Monday, April 8th, 2024." This ultimatum represents the third extension of notice of industrial action, highlighting the staff's commitment to resolving the salary disparities that have persisted for years."
