The General Secretary of the National Teachers' Union (UNATU), Mr Filbert Baguma, has suspended the sit-down strike in which Arts teachers demanded a salary increment to match that of their Science counterparts.

This came at the tail-end of a six-hour meeting held at their offices along Bombo Road in Kampala.

The decision to suspend the strike, which has been ongoing since September 15, followed their meeting with the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, held on October 8.

The leadership of UNATU used the same meeting to deliver their petition to the Speaker, who promised to take action, and has since instructed three committees to return from recess and investigate the teachers' concerns.

"The National Executive Council and branch chairpersons, in their special sitting held on Thursday, have resolved to suspend the industrial action to allow Parliament, through the relevant committees, to conclude their investigations," Mr Baguma said. He added, "We call upon our members to resume their duties as soon as possible as we monitor Parliament's progress."

The three committees instructed to handle the teachers' petition include the Committee on Education, Public Service, and the Committee on Local Government.

"This suspension is not a surrender. It is a strategic decision to give room to Parliament, which is the institution responsible for budget allocation and oversight," Mr Baguma warned.

He added, "If Parliament fails to deliver justice, industrial action will resume - stronger, broader, and indefinite."

The meeting that led to the suspension of the teachers' strike was attended by UNATU regional leaders, branch leaders, and five workers' MPs, among other stakeholders.

Mr Baguma dismissed allegations that the 32-day-long strike has been futile, stating that the demonstration yielded four outcomes.

He stated that it has "reopened negotiation channels on the issue of salary disparities that had been closed for over three years" and also "built a national consensus that the teaching profession deserves respect and equity."

He added that the same strike "triggered a Parliamentary process involving three key committees to discuss the matter" and "moved the issue from ministry corridors to committees of Parliament where all ministers must now answer."