Staff members at Makerere University have decided to initiate a strike next week as a response to the university’s failure to align staff salaries. The crux of their discontent lies in the perceived disparity between their earnings and those of their counterparts in other public universities across the country.
The Joint Staff Associations of the University, encompassing Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), Makerere Administrative Staff Association (MASA), and the National Union of Education Institutions (NUEI), Makerere branch, made this announcement during a press briefing at Bativa Hotel in Kampala. Notably, the initial plan to hold the briefing at MUASA Offices within Makerere University was thwarted by the police, led by Sergeant Muhwezi, acting on administration orders.
Dr. Robert Kakuru, Chairperson of MUASA, disclosed that the university and its staff had been entangled in a salary harmonization dispute for nearly a decade. The Ministry of Public Service had pledged 12 billion shillings last year for this purpose, but shockingly, the funds were absent from the 2023/2024 budget. According to Kakuru, an emergency general assembly set a deadline of August 18, 2023, for the government to address the matter. Following the expiration of a 90-day ultimatum in November 2023, the staff extended the deadline until January 14, 2024, warning of imminent industrial action thereafter.
Justine Namudde, Secretary General of NUEI-Makerere Branch, decried the injustice of individuals with identical qualifications receiving disparate salaries, with some earning only half of their peers in other public universities. Namudde cited the example of a library assistant at Makerere earning 1.2 million shillings, while their counterparts at Kyambogo received over 2 million shillings.
Joan Kakongoro, Deputy Secretary General of MUASA, highlighted the staff’s repeated attempts to engage with the administration and the failure of the administration to honor agreements. Meanwhile, Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, sought parliamentary support for urgently needed funds during a session defending the University’s budget framework for the Financial Year 2024/2025.
Despite the administration’s appeal to Parliament, Kakuru expressed skepticism, noting that a similar plea was made the previous year without resulting in any allocated funding. The staff associations have consistently advocated for harmonization to match the salary levels of their counterparts in sister public universities.
In 2017, staff members petitioned the University council, prompting the establishment of a salary harmonization committee in July. The committee, chaired by Thomas Tayebwa, determined that 23 billion shillings were necessary to align Makerere University staff salaries with those of other public universities. This figure included 17.7 billion shillings for academic staff, 4.3 billion shillings for administrative staff, and 669 million shillings for support staff.
The impending strike coincides with the commencement of semester two for the 2023/2024 academic year, scheduled to start on January 13, 2024, and precedes the 74th graduation ceremony, set to begin on January 29, 2024.
