The strike, spearheaded by the Joint Staff Associations—which includes the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), the Makerere Administrative Staff Association (MASA), and the National Union of Education Institutions (NUEI)—was formally declared in a letter dated October 7, 2024.
Makerere main building as viewed from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Photo by Fahad Muganga
Makerere University staff have initiated industrial action to protest the institution’s failure to harmonize their salaries with those of staff at other public universities. The strike, spearheaded by the Joint Staff Associations—which includes the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), the Makerere Administrative Staff Association (MASA), and the National Union of Education Institutions (NUEI)—was formally declared in a letter dated October 7, 2024.
The letter, addressed to University Council Chairperson Lorna Magara, stated that the industrial action would begin immediately. It cited the university management's failure to fulfill its commitment to harmonize staff salaries by September 2024, a promise made two months prior.
In addition to this, the staff accused the university management of demoting many of their colleagues rather than adjusting their salaries as agreed. They also claimed that some colleagues whose salaries were harmonized had received letters detailing their salary scales but without specific figures—an action the staff described as a deliberate attempt to defraud their peers.
The associations further accused the university management of conspiring with the Uganda Police to disrupt a joint staff general assembly that was scheduled to take place on October 1, 2024.
Demands of the Staff
The staff have jointly resolved to maintain the industrial action until their grievances are addressed. Their demands include the full payment of all salary harmonization funds, as computed by management and approved by both the University Council and the Government of Uganda for the 2024/2025 financial year, including arrears.
They are also calling for the immediate reversal of all decisions by the appointments board that demoted staff to lower ranks. Additionally, they want assurances that staff currently occupying senior positions will not be negatively impacted by the salary harmonization process.
Another key demand is the rescission and correction of all salary harmonization letters already issued, to include the actual salary amounts at each given salary scale.
Background
For years, Makerere University staff have advocated for salary harmonization to align their pay with that of their counterparts in other public universities. They argue that it is unjust for individuals with similar qualifications to earn significantly different salaries, with some Makerere staff receiving as little as half of what their peers at other universities earn.
In 2017, the staff petitioned the University Council, prompting the creation of a Salary Harmonization Committee in July of that year to streamline salary scales at Makerere. The committee, chaired by Thomas Tayebwa, reported that 23 billion Shillings would be required to harmonize salaries across all staff categories. This included 17.7 billion Shillings for academic staff, 4.3 billion Shillings for administrative staff, and 669 million Shillings for support staff.
Earlier this year, the staff had threatened to go on strike starting January 15, 2024, but called it off after Vice Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe promised to raise the issue with the government. However, the staff warned that if funds were not allocated for salary harmonization in the 2024/2025 budget, they would resume the strike on April 8, 2024.
Relief seemed to be on the horizon when the government allocated 61 billion Shillings to harmonize staff salaries across 12 public universities. Makerere University was set to receive 12.6 billion Shillings, second only to Makerere University Business School (MUBS), which was allocated 14 billion Shillings. Other beneficiaries included Muni University (6.3 billion Shillings), Kyambogo University (6 billion Shillings), Lira University (4.7 billion Shillings), and Busitema University (3.9 billion Shillings), among others.
Despite these allocations, Makerere University staff claim they have yet to receive any formal communication indicating their harmonized salaries, unlike their counterparts at other public universities. This lack of progress has fueled anxiety and frustration among members of the joint staff associations.