By KT Reporter
As the nationwide teachers’ strike marks its third week, the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has joined other government agencies in calling on arts teachers to suspend their strike and return to the classroom.
The Commission’s Chairperson, Mariam Fauzat Wangadya emphasized that while it’s crucial for children to receive an education and teachers deserve fair pay and dignity, it is essential for educators to remain in class as negotiations continue.
Wangadya said this term is particularly important as candidates will soon be facing exams that significantly impact their future.
Arts teachers have persistently accused the government of discrimination and failure to grant them equal opportunity in pay.
According to the International Labor Organization pay gap is a human rights violation because the principle of equal pay for work of equal or comparable value is a fundamental human right enshrined in international law and national legislation.
She suggested that the strike be put on hold until the end of the term, with the hope that a solution might emerge from ongoing discussions.
She addressed journalists soon after leading the UHRC tribunal session at the Soroti regional human rights offices on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
The current industrial action addresses persistent salary disparities that have led to ongoing conflicts within the education sector.
Over the years, various teacher unions have organized strikes protesting delayed or unequal pay adjustments, yet the issues persist.
Filbert Baguma, the general secretary of the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), recently highlighted that after three years of unproductive dialogue with the government, this decision was made.
Highlighting the pay gap, data from the Ministry of Public Service reveals that graduate science teachers receive a gross monthly salary of four million shillings, netting about 2.8 million shillings after taxes, while graduate arts teachers take home package is 754,600 shillings.
Diploma-level science teachers earn approximately S1.54 million shillings after tax, contrasting sharply with diploma-level arts teachers who receive between 521,500 and 548,800 shilings.
Teachers constitute the largest segment of Uganda’s public service, and according to the Ministry of Finance, equalizing the salaries of over 17,000 arts teachers to match the four million shillings paid to science teachers would result in an annual cost of around 509 billion shillings.
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