Teachers in Pader District have expressed deep frustration over months of unpaid salaries and unexplained deductions. They reported that the crisis has financially distressed them.
The teachers mid this week stormed the district headquarters to seek answers and deliver a petition to the office of the Resident District Commissioner.
Their leader, Joseph Okumu, said some teachers have not received a salary since March, while others last earned in June or July.
He revealed that all teachers at Pajule Secondary School have gone for months without pay, and that some have also suffered deductions ranging from 150,000 to 310,000 shillings without explanation.
Bosco Okwera, a teacher at Pajule Secondary School who was transferred from another district in April, said he is no longer sure if his name still appears on Pader’s payroll.
“If there’s no budget for us, then redeploy us where we can at least earn something,” he said.
Okwera urged the district to seek technical help to resolve the data mismatches that have blocked their salaries.
Another teacher said they are literally dying in their homes amidst loan deductions, asking that the district give a definite date for payment.
In their petition, the teachers listed four key issues: underpayment, unpaid salary, lack of feedback, and poor communication from the district. They emphasized that their action was not meant to attack anyone but to seek justice and accountability.
The District Human Resource Officer, Lillian Atek, while responding to the issue, said the problem mainly stems from the migration to the Human Capital Management System (HCM), which has faced technical challenges, data mismatches, and transfer-related blocks still pending verification from the Ministry of Public Service.
She confirmed that 66 teachers had been paid outside the official payroll between July and October, but said tracking those payments was difficult due to system integration issues.
Atek assured the teachers that each case would be handled individually and promised to travel to Kampala to follow up with the ministry for faster solutions.
“We understand your frustration, but we are working on every case. Please follow the right process when submitting your claims,” she told them.
District Auditor Kenneth Opwonya explained that salary processing under HCMS depends on accurate details linked to the Integrated Financial Management System. He said mismatched information, especially in transfer cases, automatically blocks payment.
“If the data from the previous district doesn’t match what we have here, it fails,” he said, advising teachers to verify their details with the Human Resources and CAO.
Principal Assistant Secretary Joyce Anek Ongee thanked the teachers for presenting their concerns peacefully and cautioned them against listening to rumors.
She said November salaries would be paid to all teachers except those with unresolved technical issues.
Finance Committee Chairperson Balex Okello called for close coordination between the Human Resource Office and head teachers to keep affected staff informed. He said the district should take a firm stance against continuous underpayment and consider halting salary processing until all issues are resolved.
According to the Human Resource Office, out of 1,829 staff on the district payroll, 1,733 have been fully migrated, while 96 cases remain pending, including 50 under review and 46 with technical or structural issues.
Despite the assurances, many teachers said they will continue pushing until their arrears are cleared, describing the situation as “unbearable” and “slowly killing families” that depend entirely on the delayed salaries.
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