UGANDA: Makerere lecturers suspend pay strike

By PATIENCE AHIMBISIBWE & ABDU KIYAGA.

Makerere University staff have suspended their strike over salary increment ahead of today’s end of year academic exams.

“We have suspended the strike as we monitor, participate and lobby until we see the 100 per cent increment is reflected into next year’s budget,” Dr Muhammad Kiggundu, the chairperson of Makerere University Academic Staff Association, said after the general assembly yesterday. Their move comes a day after the University Council, together with management, agreed to include the lecturers’ salary demand of 100 per cent into the budget.

Prof John Ddumba-Ssentamu, the university vice-chancellor, yesterday said while they appreciate the staff’s concerns, they needed to be calm to allow students begin their examinations. He explained in a statement that management, at the advice of the Council, had incorporated the 100 per cent salary increment into the institution’s budget of 2013/2014. “The revised budget will be delivered to the Ministry of Education and Sports on Monday May 6 (today). I appeal to all staff to lift their tools to enable the university to go through a successful examination season,” Prof Ddumba said.

Earlier, the Council had promised to take up the matter with the government which prompted the lecturers’ to lay down their tools on Friday.

The talks 

The institution has since been engaged in several meetings. But the staff are skeptical that council’s U-turn may be aimed to hoodwink them. However, Dr Kiggundu, assured the staff that his committee would together with management deliver the letter today which has an inclusion of their demand to the Education ministry and Parliament. “We know the university collects over Shs200 billion from private students. If the government throws back the budget, we know where to go,” Dr Kiggundu explained.

According to Dr Kiggundu, the Shs68 billion budget has been withdrawn and the new budget risen to Shs137 billion to incorporate the staff’s 100 per cent salary demand. In February, students rioted opposing the institution’s decision to implement a 2007 tuition policy which required at least each student to have paid 60 per cent by the sixth week in the semester.

Source: Daily Monitor (06/05/2013): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Makerere-lecturers-suspend-pay-strike/-/688334/1842954/-/u1utvsz/-/index.html