Some 115 teachers in Mayuge have returned to school, after nearly three weeks on strike over nonpayment of their salaries.
The teachers went on strike early in March after enduring nearly six months without pay. The strike appears to have pushed district leaders pay the salaries.
According to Paul Muzige, the district personnel officer, 86 out of the 115 teachers had their salaries cleared. “So far, the salaries of 86 teachers were paid in their known accounts and we hope to clear the remaining ones by the end of April,” Muzige told The Observer.
The district education officer, William Nadiope, added that all teachers had reported back to their respective schools. “Currently, all the pending issues regarding payments were handled smoothly by the finance department and, at the moment, all my teachers have embarked on their classroom duties,” he said.
However, Mayuge’s Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) chairperson, Bashir Kayeyera, claimed that all the teachers are still demanding for their January salaries.
“True, the biggest number of teachers received their salaries for the months of February and March, but January is still pending and the Finance departed has paid a deaf ear to our call,” Kayeyera said.
“On top of failing to handle our salary arrears, the personnel [officer] has not remitted money meant for servicing our loans in the various finance institutions for the past three months.”
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