Teachers’ salary disparities back in spotlight as govt invites unions for talks

KAMPALA – Teachers’ long-standing grievances over salary disparities have returned to the spotlight after the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) confirmed it had received an invitation from the Ministry of Public Service for a consultative meeting on public servants’ pay and welfare.

The meeting, scheduled for March 10, 2026, at the ministry boardroom in Kampala, will bring together government officials and leaders from several workers’ unions to receive a briefing on the progress made in implementing salary enhancement measures for public officers.

For teachers, the invitation comes amid renewed industrial action over what unions describe as persistent and widening salary gaps within the profession.

In recent months, UNATU has repeatedly announced a nationwide strike, instructing teachers to stay out of classrooms in protest of what they call discriminatory pay structures between science and arts teachers.

The union argues that despite years of negotiations and repeated government commitments to harmonise salaries, the disparities remain unresolved and continue to fuel tensions within the education sector.

Data from the Ministry of Public Service highlights the magnitude of the pay gap. Graduate science teachers currently earn a gross monthly salary of about Shs4 million and take home roughly Shs2.8 million after tax. In contrast, graduate arts teachers take home between Shs672,000 and Shs754,600.

The gap is also evident among diploma holders. Diploma-level science teachers earn about Shs1.54 million net, while diploma-level arts teachers earn between Shs521,500 and Shs548,800.

Teachers make up the largest segment of Uganda’s public service workforce, making the issue particularly significant for government wage policy and public service management.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, increasing salaries for more than 17,000 arts teachers to match the Shs4 million paid to science teachers would require an estimated Shs509 billion annually.

Despite the financial implications, teacher unions maintain that salary harmonisation is necessary to address inequalities within the profession and to restore morale among educators.

Officials say the upcoming meeting is intended to provide a platform for dialogue and information sharing between government and union leaders on salary enhancement and broader welfare concerns affecting public servants.