At least 43 police officers at the rank of Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (C/ASP) have dragged the police management to court for deducting their salaries over the last four months.
The officers who were recruited under the category of science professionals in March 2016, fall under the scale U4 (science) - meaning they are supposed to earn Shs 1,131,000 after their basic police training. The salaries for all scientists under salary scale U4 (science) was increased to Shs 2,200,000 in the 2018/2019 financial year budget.
However, the petitioners argue that despite the fact that the salary increment was effected between June and October 2018, their salaries have mysteriously reduced by varying figures since November 2018 to date.
The salary of cadet officers varies between Shs 1.1 million and Shs 2 million. Now, through their lawyers of Lukwago and Co. Advocates, the cadets want court to force the police management to pay all their money as well as abide by their employment contracts. In their civil suit filed before Kampala High court last week, the police officers say they demand a total of Shs 216,915,733.
They want court to declare that police management breached its contract with them when it failed to pay them as per the U4 (science) salary scale, which was reflected in their appointment letters signed by the president. Police has in the last four months been deducting salaries of various police officers.
Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga recently said that the police finance and salary department was in the process of reorganising the payroll after it was discovered that most officers were earning more than they ought too. He said some officers who were not scientists had been earning salaries of scientists while some scientist were earning salaries for nonscientists.
It is still unclear whether the complaints by the cadet officers have any connection to the ongoing process. Attempts to get a comment from Enanga about the petition were futile as he was not picking his known phone numbers.
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