UNATU on bribery
The leadership of Uganda National Teachers’ Union-UNATU met with President Yoweri Museveni on Monday, and it was resolved that they end three weeks of a solid strike.
During the closed door meeting at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, the President assured the Arts teachers that the government has no money to enhance their salaries and that they should be patient.
The President insisted that the National Resistance Movement NRM position is to front sciences to encourage Ugandans to embrace science and technology to empower people.
“We have pledged to competitively remunerate workers guided by a science-led strategy. This does not mean we have forgotten others, but we are choosing to prioritize the few and others can come later. We must finish one problem at a time,” the President reportedly told teachers’ representatives.
The teachers left the meeting with two positions, to either continue the strike or call it off, considering the President’s position. They opted for the latter.
Filbert Baguma, UNATU Secretary-General, says the UNATU leadership, that includes teachers, held another three hours meeting at teachers house that informed their decision.
UNATU on bribery
He says they resolved that it was better to continue at the negotiating table with the government.
However, UNATU’s decision has drawn mixed reactions from the public with a section spreading rumours that the teachers were bribed to end the strike.
Baguma has however confronted the rumours, calling it mere propaganda aimed at spoiling their reputation.
He explains that the UNATU leadership took the only reasonable option for teachers and learners as well considering the government’s position.
“There is a rumour flying around that the leaders have been bribed, they have a responsibility to take leadership over membership not to take teachers in the wrong direction. We discussed for over three hours and also looked at who is at the center of our this being the learner,” he says
Baguma says there is ongoing engagement with the government to determine how long the suspension will take and when the strike will be indefinitely called off.
However , a section of UNATU branch leaders say they will petition Parliament over the matter on Wednesday.
This is not the first time UNATU has launched a strike and suspended it without yielding results. In 2019, the union had mobilized teachers to withdraw labour over salary enhancements but the President quickly summoned the leaders and convinced them to suspend it.
