Pader teachers demand immediate intervention over months-long salary delays

6 November 2025, 19:58

By Ekel Bonny Daniel

Teachers across Pader District have raised urgent concerns over months-long salary delays, underpayments, and payroll irregularities, prompting immediate action from district leadership at the Chief Administrative Officer’s (CAO) office.

The crisis, affecting staff from Pajule Secondary School, and other institutions, has left many families struggling and staff morale at a low point.

The teachers had intended to meet the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) to present their grievances; however, all RDCs were attending a meeting in Gulu.

Undeterred, the delegation proceeded to the CAO’s office to formally present their petition on on Thursday November 6, 2025, highlighting that some educators had not received salaries since March 2025, while others faced irregular deductions and delayed payments from July onwards.

Mr. Joseph Okumu, Head of Delegation, reported that since July, staff salaries have been subject to unexplained deductions ranging from UGX 60,000 to 310,000.

“Our families are suffering, and it’s impossible to continue teaching effectively without our salaries,” said Joseph Okumu, head of the teachers’ delegation. “We present this petition in good faith, seeking fairness, transparency, and accountability in salary administration.”

During the CAO meeting, key district officials including Atek Lillian, Human Resource Officer; Anek Joyce Onge, representing the CAO; Okello Ballex, Chairperson of the Finance Committee; and Internal Auditor Opwonya Kenneth met with teachers to address the salary crisis and outline corrective measures.

HR Officer Lillian explained that the salary delays were largely caused by payroll migration challenges in the Human Capital Management (HCM) system, data mismatches, transfer-related blocks, and pending verification by the Ministry of Public Service.

She confirmed that 66 teachers had been paid outside the official payroll for July–October under temporary approvals, but tracking these payments was complicated due to system integration issues.

Lillian emphasized that each case would be handled individually and encouraged staff to follow proper procedures for claiming arrears.

She assured teachers that she would travel to Kampala for follow-up with the Ministry to expedite approvals and corrections.

CAO representative Anek Joyce Onge praised the teachers for approaching the matter constructively and encouraged unity, discouraging rumor-mongering.

“The district leadership is committed to resolving these issues, and continuous engagement like this ensures transparency,” she said.

Finance Committee Chair Okello Ballex addressed concerns about underpayments and data mismatches.

He explained that salaries must reflect accurate staff records and correct scale adjustments.

“It is better for someone to stay unpaid temporarily than to lose rightful earnings permanently,” he noted.

Ballex also assured that missing or mismatched records would be flagged immediately to school heads to facilitate timely corrections.

Internal Auditor Opwonya Kenneth provided technical explanations for deductions, transfer-related salary blocks, and scale adjustments, clarifying that some discrepancies were due to statutory deductions, loan repayments, or corrections aligning salaries with years of service.

Teachers expressed frustration at delayed communication, unexplained deductions, and inconsistent pay across schools.

Deputy Head of Delegation Acaye Simon Peter noted that while neighboring schools were receiving full salaries, their own remained incomplete, exacerbating financial strain.

District leadership pledged immediate action: verifying individual cases, ensuring arrears payment, correcting migration issues, and improving communication.

Officials confirmed that at least November salaries would be paid promptly, with complex cases handled on a case-by-case basis.

The crisis underscores systemic challenges in payroll management and staff welfare in Pader District.

Teachers remain committed to serving their students but urge accountability, fairness, and transparent administration to restore trust and morale.

“We appeal for fairness in salary administration, not as a witch-hunt but to ensure our families and students are not adversely affected,” the teachers’ petition concluded.

According to Human Resource Officer Atek Lillian, out of 1,829 staff on the district payroll, 1,733 have been fully migrated, 96 remain pending 50 under scrutiny and 46 with technical or structural issues while 25 secondary staff were successfully added in October.