KAMPALA -Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) interim Chairman Prof. Edward Mwavu has reminded the government that the UGX 15 billion secured for salary enhancements in all public universities is still way below the required expectations.
Prof. Mwavu, made these remarks in an interview with PML Daily on Tuesday, August 6, 2019.
“Currently a professor in a non-science subject is at 8.5 million, but by this financial year a professor should be getting 15 million,” he said.
This website has also seen a copy of the letter that was written on August 5, 2019, by the Makerere university joint staff associations MUASA, MASA and NUEI in response to the government salary enhancement.
“We are grateful for the government offer and its continued efforts made towards fulfilling the presidential commitment of UGX 15 million salary for a professor pro-rata. You may recall that the agreement was to achieve the mark of UGX 15million for a professor pro-rata by financial year 2019/2020 and the current offer falls below expectations, “reads an excerpt from the letter.
Currently, a professor in a public university earns UGX 8,520,745. This means that although the agreed time to raise a professor to UGX.15 million has elapsed, the secured fifteen billion will only take a professor to UGX 8.8 million.
Prof Mwavu, who became MUASA head in June 2019 after the suspension of the then Chairman of the association Dr. Deus Kamunyu told PML Daily that five years ago ” the President of Uganda had been committed to raise the professors’ salaries to 15 million.”
However, the salary enhancement couldn’t be realized in one financial year and so the government and other stakeholders under the guidance of technocrats agreed to pay the money in phased criteria.
According to Prof Mwavu who is also MUASA’s substantive Vice Chair Person, the enhancement had been phased in five financial years in regard with the agreement they had with the government.
“The staff understanding the economy, they agreed that they could not get it at once but agreed to have it in five years,” he remarked.
He added that by July 2019, they expected a professor to get fifteen million based on the cumulative method they agreed with the government to raise their salaries.
However, on August 4th 2019 the Makerere University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe called upon all the staff members of the institution to report to work assuring them that their issues were being handled effectively.
With only two days away to the start of the semester, staff in public universities have not called off their industrial action and it is uncertain whether studies in these institutions will commence right away.
