More than 120 non-teaching employees at Makerere University are seeking clarification over a salary harmonisation process they say excluded them, despite the government allocating billions of shillings to standardise pay structures and job classifications in public universities.
The affected workers, among them Administrative Assistants, Laboratory Assistants and Senior Clerical Officers, contend that although staff at other public universities benefited from the reforms, they remain on lower salary scales while carrying out duties assigned to higher positions.
Bruce Twesigye, General Secretary of the Public Universities Non-Teaching Staff Executive Forum (PUNTSEF), explained that the harmonisation exercise, launched around 2019, was intended to address disparities that saw employees at Makerere earning less than counterparts in newer institutions despite holding comparable responsibilities.
According to Twesigye, the government provided Shs61.13 billion to public universities in the 2024/2025 financial year to facilitate the exercise, with Makerere receiving Shs12.64 billion to align the employment terms, job titles and salaries of 1,099 non-teaching staff with the Public Service framework.
He noted that while several universities implemented the revised salary structures, Makerere has yet to fully execute the changes. More than 120 administrative and support staff, he said, continue to earn salaries attached to obsolete grades despite undertaking responsibilities associated with higher positions.
Records from the Ministry of Public Service, staff petitions and related correspondence reviewed by this publication suggest that implementation of the harmonisation programme at Makerere has been uneven.
The documents indicate that some employees remain on lower pay scales even though funds earmarked for their upgrades were either left idle or returned to the Consolidated Fund.
Among the affected are Administrative Assistants stationed in various schools and colleges who handle admissions, academic records and other duties ordinarily performed by Assistant Academic Registrars. Under Makerere’s previous structure, these officers were placed on Salary Scale M7 and earned about Shs4.4 million per month.
Following a job evaluation and payroll verification by the Ministry of Public Service, the officers were reportedly redesignated as Assistant Academic Registrars under Salary Scale PU6.2, which carries a monthly salary of approximately Shs5.9 million.
However, university management is said to have instead introduced the title of Assistant Administrative Officer under the lower PU7 scale, whose remuneration closely resembles the discontinued M7 grade, while staff continued carrying out the same duties.
A review of the approved university establishment reportedly shows that Assistant Administrative Officer positions do not exist within the Academic Registrar’s department where the affected staff work.
Concerns have also been raised in other categories. While the university currently has 51 Assistant Administrative Secretaries, the approved staffing structure provides for only 17 positions. Twenty-eight officers in this category were allocated Shs398.34 million under the harmonisation programme, but the funds have not been disbursed.
Nine Senior Clerical Officers are also awaiting redesignation as Records Assistants. The adjustment would move them from Salary Scale PU14, which attracts about Shs1.3 million per month, to Scale PU10 with a monthly salary of Shs3.33 million. An allocation of Shs224.2 million was set aside for this group.
Similarly, 23 Laboratory Assistants who were redesignated as Assistant Technicians during the exercise were expected to see their salaries increase from about Shs1.3 million on Scale M15 to Shs3.48 million on Scale PU10, but they reportedly remain on their former pay scales.
In a petition addressed to the President, the non-teaching staff argue that the delay in implementing the salary adjustments has affected morale and could undermine efficiency at the university.
They further claim that many of the affected employees occupy positions that exceed the approved establishment and offer limited opportunities for career progression.
Questions have also emerged over the utilisation of the harmonisation funds. Since January 2025, Makerere is reported to have returned Shs1.7 billion from its Shs12.64 billion allocation to the Consolidated Fund.
Staff representatives and officials from the Ministry of Public Service have questioned why money designated for salary enhancements was not spent, especially when other public universities reportedly used their allocations without significant challenges.
Documents indicate that the aggrieved staff first raised the matter with university management in December 2024. Several meetings and correspondences followed, though workers say they largely received verbal assurances.
The issue was later considered by the university’s Appointments Board during a meeting held on August 1, 2025. In letters issued to former Administrative Assistants, the board acknowledged that the position had been abolished under the harmonised structure but maintained that employees had been appropriately upgraded to Assistant Administrative Officer on Salary Scale PU7.
“The Board agreed that you were fairly and justly harmonised,” states part of a letter signed by Chief Human Resource Officer Deus Tayari Mujuni.
However, the affected staff argue that this interpretation differs from harmonisation schedules issued by the Ministry of Public Service, which reportedly redesignated 28 Administrative Assistants as Assistant Registrars, reflecting the duties they currently perform.
In March this year, staff leaders escalated the matter to the Ministry of Public Service after meeting then minister Muruli Mukasa and other officials.
The ministry subsequently wrote to Makerere management seeking explanations regarding grievances raised by administrative secretaries, clerical officers, laboratory assistants and other affected staff categories.
Acting Permanent Secretary Irumba Roger Kaija directed the university to respond by April 1, 2026. A reminder was sent on May 4, but by the time of publication, Makerere had not submitted a formal response.
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