KAMPALA, UGANDA– Uganda faces potential paralysis of public services as the Local Government Workers Union threatens to join arts teachers’ ongoing strike, piling pressure on a government accused of ignoring longstanding salary demands.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Through their Union’s Secretary General Mr. Hassan Lwabayi Mudiba, local government workers issued a September 30, 2025 deadline for the government to address grievances, threatening a full-scale strike starting October 1 if unmet, citing persistent salary disparities as their core reason for action.
This threat follows August talks between ULGWU and government officials. Workers had resolved to withdraw their labour if salary increments were not included in the 2026/2027 Budget Framework Paper.
ULGWU National Chairperson Emmanuel Gidudu, flanked by Secretary General Mudiba, emphasized that September’s critical Budget Call Circular must address salary disparities that have crippled worker morale and undermined public service delivery.
“The patience of our members has worn thin. We have engaged in dialogue, but now we need tangible action in the national budget. The government has until month’s end to act, or we will down tools on October first,” Mudiba stated.
The development signals a significant escalation of industrial unrest. It comes as the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) enters another week of industrial action that crippled the start of the third term last week.
Persistent salary disparities, which unions say have demotivated workers, created inequity, and undermined nationwide service delivery, form the core issue fueling both disputes.
UNATU General Secretary Baguma Filbert explained that the teachers’ strike is not politically motivated but stems from unaddressed pay inequities, adding that their patience has completely run out after years of government inaction.
“We have waited three years for the government to fulfill its promises. While we feel the pain of parents and learners, we are also parents with children in school. Our patience has run out,” Baguma said.
Baguma illustrated the clear disparity, noting a diploma-holding arts teacher takes home approximately UGX 600,000 after taxes, while their science counterpart earns UGX 2.2 million before taxes a gap the union calls demoralizing and unjust.
With local government workers now aligning their timeline with the teachers’ struggle, the government faces coordinated pressure from two major public sector unions simultaneously.
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