Egerton University dons, Uasu clash over 40 percent pay cut

Egerton lecturers and Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) have differed over the ongoing salary cuts at the institution.

The lecturers accused the Uasu Egerton Chapter of sleeping on the job even as the management slashed their salaries by up to 40 percent from April due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The lecturers, who said they had lost confidence in the union’s Egerton chapter, called for the dissolution of the office to give room for fresh elections.  

However, Uasu Egerton Chapter chairperson Fredrick Mwangangi denied claims that the union had abandoned its members.

“The lecturers’ Friday meeting which was only attended by a few union members was illegitimate,” said Mr Mwangangi.

However, the attendance records seen by the Nation showed that more than 100 lecturers attended the meeting.

 He added: “There are issues beyond the powers of Uasu and when it comes to pay cuts and implementation of salary arrears, the union can only lobby to have the members’ demands met."

He said Uasu will meet at Egerton University Njoro Campus on Wednesday to address the issues affecting its members.

The lecturers, through their spokesperson Prof Mwaniki Ngare, said it was wrong for Uasu Egerton Chapter to allow the university to slash their salaries without consulting them.

"Uasu has failed on its duties, it no longer represents the interest of its members," said Prof Ngare.

“The university has never told us how it arrived at the current formula of slashing our salaries by 40 per cent when the government has continued to provide capitation money,” he said.

“For the past six months, Uasu has been silent as the university management continues to slash our salaries,” said Prof Ngare during a meeting in Nakuru on Friday.

The lecturers have threatened to move to court to demand full payment of their salaries and remittances of other statutory deductions. They claimed that the university had failed to remit their statutory deductions.  

"We have been messed up by these deductions and we shall explore all the avenues to ensure that all out demands are met," said Prof Ngare.

The lecturers, who are demanding immediate reinstatement of their full salaries, claimed that the university was facing a financial crisis because of corruption.

“We demand a thorough forensic audit of the overall management of the university in the last four years," said Prof Ngare.

The dons claimed that the university’s Vice-Chancellor Prof Rose Mwonya was in office even after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.  

“We demand that Prof Mwonya vacates office to give room for the recruitment of a new vice chancellor," said Prof Ngare.

The vice-chancellor, however, denied claims of mismanagement at Egerton University. She said the university was facing financial difficulties and was unable to pay all its employees their full salaries.

"The financial crisis is not my own making,” said Prof Mwonya.