By The Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) has declared that its ongoing industrial action goes beyond salary concerns, insisting it is a fight to protect the quality of education and the future of Uganda’s children.
Speaking to this publication, UNATU National Chairperson Zadock Tumuhimbise accused government of repeatedly betraying teachers by failing to honour commitments made under the 2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which was intended to guide salary enhancements and improve teachers’ welfare.
“What we are in today is not beginning today. It goes back to 2018,” Tumuhimbise said, recalling that after signing the CBA, government failed to implement its terms. “That’s the result we are facing now.”
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In 2022, UNATU members staged a nationwide strike that ended after President Yoweri Museveni personally intervened, meeting union leaders at Kololo Independence Grounds on July 4. Teachers agreed to return to class in good faith, hoping government would deliver on its promises.
“Today, the 15th of September 2025, it is three years and two and a half months since that meeting, yet we have never received any firm commitment,” Tumuhimbise noted, adding that numerous reminders had been sent to the President, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, the Minister of Public Service, the Minister of Finance, and even to Parliament.
Frustrated by what they describe as deliberate neglect, UNATU last week convened an emergency National Executive Council meeting, followed by a special gathering of branch chairpersons from all districts, municipalities, and cities across Uganda. Both meetings resolved to launch a fresh nationwide strike starting Monday, September 15, 2025.
According to Tumuhimbise, the strike seeks to compel government to extend salary enhancements to all categories of teachers left out during the 2022 adjustments. “We are not satisfied, we are not happy. This action is for the good of the Ugandan child, the Ugandan pupil, the Ugandan student,” he said.
The strike has already sparked concern among parents and learners, with fears that prolonged industrial action could disrupt preparations for end-of-year national examinations.
Government is yet to issue an official response to the union’s latest action.
