Makerere University staff have called off their sit-down strike following an harmonisation meeting with the permanent secretary at the ministry of public service.
Justine Namuddu, Ag. Branch Secretary & National Organising Secretary at National Union of Educational Institutions (NUEI), said on Wednesday that the Joint Staff Associations( MUASA, MASA & NUEI) had a General Assembly and agreed to suspend the strike to allow negotiations with the ministry of public service to go on smoothly.
“The General assembly has therefore resolved to suspend the industrial action until next Friday 25/10/2024 at a time to be communicated. This is to allow negotiations to go on smoothly,” Namuddu said.
She also noted that the meeting at public service ‘ did not yield anything tangible because the main staff concern was about the newly introduced job requirements (qualification) and nothing has been changed yet’.
A committee was made to follow up on staff concerns regards salary harmonisation and it is expected to report on the same next week. The report will guide the staff on whether to continue with the strike or not.
The suspension of the strike follows a request by the ministry of public service, according to Makerere University Agm Deputy VC in charge of academic affairs Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi.
The Honourable Minister appealed to all stakeholders to suspend the current withdrawal of labour action to allow for cordial dialogue and negotiations and ensure industrial harmony, writes Mukadasi in a letter dated October 16.
“In the spirit of the Honourable Minister’s appeal, I urge you and the staff association members to suspend the current withdrawal of labour, sustain service delivery to our students and allow for cordial negotiations to address the outstanding salary harmonisation matters,” Mukadasi adds.
Prof. Mukadasi further notes that concerns of salary arrears do not fall within the university’s mandate but rather that of the ministry of public service.
Makerere University staff declared a sit-down strike Monday last week over salary arrears. The strike has left many students missing out of lectures as only a few lecturers were turning up to fulfill their academic obligation.
