Egerton University Uasu chapter suspends lecturers’ strike
Universities Academic Staff Union Egerton Chapter members outside the Njoro campus on November 4, 2020.
Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) Egerton Chapter will not participate in the nationwide lecturers’ strike that is set to begin tomorrow.
Interestingly, Egerton University is one of the 35 public universities whose management has not implemented the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement that led to calls for a strike by the Uasu national office.
Some of the union members said they will first deal with internal conflict resolution before making a decision to join the national strike.
"We have internal issues to address with the management,” said a member of the union.
He added: "Egerton University’s financial status is so bad and going on strike now might only worsen the situation, we need the students to be around so that the lecturers can be paid some of the allowances that the management has committed to pay."
"If we join the national strike, the university may be closed for a long time and chances are that the university management may revert to paying us 60 percent of our salaries."
Uasu Egerton Chapter Chairperson Prof Ngare Kariuki clarified that the union members will go on strike if their deal with the institution’s management is not honoured.
"If the issues we have agreed with the management are not sorted out, then the union will have no choice but to call its members to go on strike," said Prof Ngare.
The official said some of the grievances have been sorted while other negotiations are ongoing.
"The issue of promotions has been sorted, the salary deduction has been addressed and our members are receiving full salaries even although other statutory deductions have not been remitted. We have agreed with the management on a formula to pay the accruing arrears. The management has also started paying our allowances," he said.
He added: "Our Chapter strike has been suspended, we are following our internal issues with the management and we hope they will be sorted out this week before we can decide to join the nationwide strike."
