University Lecturers Call Off Strike
This agreement brings to a close the 49-day standoff that had been marked by heated exchanges between the government and the lecturers’ unions.
Marvin Chege 
The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) on Wednesday, November 5, officially ended the lecturers’ strike that had crippled university operations nationwide since September.
The move came after the government pledged to clear the outstanding Ksh7.9 billion in salary arrears owed under the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga announced that the union and the government had agreed to settle the Ksh7.9 billion owed to lecturers in two phases.
The deal brings an end to the 49-day strike that had been fraught with tensions and blame-shifting between the two sides.
UASU officials with those from the Ministry of Education on November 5, 2025. /BEATRICE INYANG'ALA
Speaking to reporters, Wesonga reassured university students that lecturers were committed to making up for the lost time, noting that the current semester would likely be slightly extended.
"I want to apologise to the comrades for the 42 plus days they have lost. However, our members have committed that they are going to recover the lost time fully," said the UASU Secretary General.
"It is upon the government that you honour what we have signed here today. If you honour what we have signed here today, I want to commit that there shall be no strike called by UASU up to 2030," he added.
He cautioned, however, that if the government fails to uphold its end of the deal, the union would immediately call another strike starting next week.
The agreement also opens the door for talks on the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which, under the new return-to-work formula, should be finalized within the next 30 days.
This development came a day after a meeting between the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, the National Assembly, and UASU led to a breakthrough that provided a roadmap towards the strike eventually being called off.
The talks, chaired by the National Assembly Committee on Education on Tuesday, November 4, saw Wesonga announce that he would summon a meeting with union members to deliberate on an end to the industrial action.
“For the sake of the children and students of this country, we are going to convene, as the organs of the union, so that we can reconsider,” Wesonga announced on Tuesday, November 4.
The session sought to find a lasting solution to the strike, with Members of Parliament (MPs) bringing together all the key stakeholders to forge common ground.
