Stage Set For Lecturers Strike After Talks With Govt Fail

Learning in all public universities across the country is set to be paralysed beginning at midnight today (Monday, October 28) after the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) announced that it will officially begin its strike.

This comes following the expiry of its seven-day strike notice, following unresolved disputes with the government regarding the implementation of a return-to-work formula agreed upon during negotiations on September 26.

"I want to tell UASU members wherever they are, just work today up to midnight, after which you should down your tools,"  the UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga urged.

"If you have given a member 7 percent it will show, we are not dealing with illiterate people who don’t know how to calculate 7 and 4 percent so you cannot cheat them. You want UASU officials to be part of that manipulation, that one we will not do."

Beginning at midnight, all public university operations will be halted, as UASU states that their attempts to engage in dialogue with the government have been unsuccessful. “Work today up to midnight. Midnight with one minute, down your tools," Wesonga rallied.

The union highlighted that their last attempt to secure a return-to-work agreement with the government failed during the meeting on September 26.

Despite the government's recent efforts to persuade lecturers to resume classes, including proposals to escalate negotiations to a ministerial level, an agreement was not reached.

This comes after UASU called off its nationwide demonstrations following an agreement reached with the officials from the ministries of Education and Labour.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, while announcing that the government would join forces with UASU in a bid to address issues raised by lecturers that led them to strike, announced on September 25 that "During the meeting, which was attended by UASU Secretary General Dr Constantine Wasonga and KUSU Secretary General Dr Charles Mukhwaya among other members, we agreed on the formation of an inter-ministerial negotiating team."

The committee would address the key concerns raised by the unions and work toward a return-to-work agreement. The team was to comprise representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), public universities, the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC), and the unions.

Mutua urged the team to fast-track its mandate in a bid to end the strike which affected thousands of students, a situation he believed was not pleasing to the government's eyes.

"My ministry is committed to fairness and balance in negotiations, and it is crucial that once Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) are signed, they are honoured. If challenges arise, workers must be informed in a timely and transparent manner," the CS assured.

According to Mutua, the unions had sought resolutions on salary increments and allowances, alongside other issues outlined in the CBA. The lecturers had downed their tools on September 18, citing delays in finalizing the 2021-2025 CBA with the government.

The parties agreed on a pay increase of between 7 per cent and 10 per cent for university staff, with those in grades 13A–15A receiving a 7 per cent increase and those in grades 10A–12A receiving a 10 per cent increase.

CS Mutua also agreed to increase the retirement threshold for all academic staff, including graduate assistants, tutorial fellows, and assistant lecturers. Following the agreement, the retirement age for all academic staff was capped at 70 years.

The government also agreed to heed an automatic annual salary increment of 4 per cent of the basic salary which would be implemented for the duration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) cycle, which runs from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025.