Lecturers in public universities will begin a nationwide strike on Wednesday next if their demands for a new collective bargaining agreement which has stalled since 2020 are not met by then.
The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) issued the strike notice on Wednesday after negotiations with the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) collapsed when the parties met under a conciliator from the Ministry of Labour on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
The union presented its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) demand proposal on September 4 2020 to the IPUCCF for the protracted 2021 – 2025 deal. The Ministry of Labour had appointed R.A.O. Litaba as a conciliator but the parties failed to reach an agreement.
In the proposal, Uasu demanded an increase of the monthly basic salary to Sh99,650 for the lowest paid lecturer (graduate assistant or tutorial fellow) and Sh338,146 for the highest paid professor, among other issues. The new CBA was supposed to have started in 2021 had the parties reached an agreement.
The current basic salary for the lowest paid lecturer is Sh 57,729 while the highest paid professor earns Sh 209,694, exclusive of other allowances.
According to Uasu, at conclusion of the CBA in 2025, the lowest paid lecturer would be earning a basic salary of Sh145,702 while the highest paid professor would pocket Sh494,415.
This strike notice comes even as lecturers in some universities are agitating for full implementation of the 2017-2021 CBA. Their grievances include delayed salaries, and unremitted statutory and third-party deductions such as loans, pension contributions, and insurance premiums.
The 2021-2025 CBA demand proposal, includes provisions for increased house allowances. Uasu for example, demands that a professor’s monthly house allowance be increased from Sh73,715 to over Sh116,000.
The union also wants the retirement age for academic staff to be raised to 75 years, with voluntary retirement options starting at 50.
They have demanded the establishment of a comprehensive, non-contributory medical scheme covering in-patient and out-patient services for staff, their spouses, and up to five dependent children under 25.
“The employer will bear the costs of transport and accommodation incurred by the employee and their dependents who are referred for specialist treatment within the country but outside their normal place of work.
In cases where the employee or their dependents are referred abroad for medical treatment, the employer will cover the full costs of travel, accommodation, and any other required expenses associated with the treatment, read a part in the CBA.
Other key demands include 60 working days of annual leave with full pay for all teaching staff, pro-rated leave for newly recruited staff, and clear promotion criteria based on academic and professional qualifications, publications, postgraduate study, and length of service.
“Teaching staff required to postpone their leave will have it carried over to the following leave year, to be taken before the end of that year,” reads CBA document.
The lecturers want promotions to be based on academic and professional qualifications, publications, postgraduate study, and length of service, with Uasu involved in developing the change of promotion criteria. Employees meeting the minimum qualifications and experience will be eligible for promotion without skipping grades, subject to staff establishment and departmental needs.
“All promotion criteria will be communicated to employees and applied objectively, without discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, gender, or other factors,” reads the proposal.
“The Promotions and Appraisals Committee's timetable will be made known to all employees and applied consistently. Promotions will not occur outside this timetable and will be predictable throughout the calendar year.
Employees dissatisfied with promotion decisions may appeal to the Chairman of the Committee. All internal promotions will be announced via circulars, and feedback will be provided in writing to all applicants within 14 days after the Promotion Appraisal Committee's meeting,” read another part of the CBA.
Speaking during a press briefing at the union headquarters in Nairobi on Wednesday, Uasu secretary-general Constantine Wasonga highlighted key issues such as the need for a long-overdue salary increase, persistent delays in salary payments, and the non-remittance of statutory and third-party deductions, including loans, insurance premiums, and pension contributions.
“30,000 employees in public universities and constituent colleges will withdraw their labour starting September 18, 2024, until their demands are met. During this period, there will be no teaching or work activities in the universities," said Mr Wasonga.
“The government has engaged in selective justice, awarding pay rises to some workers while ignoring university employees. This amounts to a violation of workers' constitutional right to fair remuneration as stipulated under Article 41-2A of the Constitution of Kenya,” said Mr Wasonga.
In a notice dated September 11, 2024, and addressed to the councils of all public universities and constituent colleges, the union highlights the failure to negotiate, finalise, register, and implement the 2021-2025 National Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), as well as inaction on CBAs from previous cycles (2013-2017, 2017-2021, and 2021-2025).
The strike is set to begin on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at all the 35 public universities and three university constituent colleges. During this period, Uasu members at all public universities and constituent colleges will withdraw their labour until these issues are resolved.
On August 26, 2024, Moi University lecturers went on strike to demand payment for two months of overdue salaries and the remittance of over Sh4.1 billion in deductions to a third party, causing significant disruption to university operations.
Previously, on October 17, 2022, Egerton University lecturers went on strike over unpaid salaries and billions in unremitted statutory deductions, prompting UASU to call for President Ruto to dissolve the Egerton Council.
On November 19, 2021, doctor-lecturers at the Moi University Medical School staged a strike for enhanced clinical allowances and the release of Sh70 million in withheld statutory deductions, leading to major disruptions at the school.
Just days earlier, on November 15, 2021, Egerton University lecturers had protested against the unilateral slashing of salaries and benefits without union consultation, resulting in the university’s closure due to a deepening financial crisis.
Earlier still, on November 4, 2020, Egerton University lecturers had struck to restore their 40 percent salary deductions and address financial mismanagement, which led to around 2,000 students missing their graduation.
