Lecturers call off strike after Sh9.7bn pay deal
From left: Principal Secretary, State Department for Higher Education and Research Beatrice Inyangala, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba and Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga holding signed return-to-work agreement at Ministry of Labour Offices in Nairobi on November 23, 2024.
After weeks of a nationwide strike that disrupted university education, lecturers have agreed to resume duties on Monday, November 25 following a breakthrough in negotiations with the government.
Members of the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu), have agreed to return to work following the signing of a return-to-work formula with the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF).
The deal includes the government's commitment to fully implement the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which is valued at Sh9.7 billion.
The implementation will be in three tranches, with the first one of Sh4.3 billion covering nine months up to June 2025. The remaining Sh5.4 billion will be disbursed in two instalments of Sh2.7 billion each.
Lecturers expressed satisfaction with the Ministry of Education’s commitment to addressing their demands, signalling the end of the industrial action.
As part of the agreement, all legal cases arising from the recent lecturers' strike will be withdrawn.
Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga announced that lecturers are expected to resume classes on Monday, November 25, bringing a welcome end to the prolonged disruption.
Resume classes
“The university academic staff is convinced that the government has acceded to what we wanted, I want to press upon lectures, but we should prepare to resume classes on Monday. We should also prepare to arrange with the university management and senate to cover the time lost so that the students can get a good education," said Dr Wasonga.
The agreement includes a plan to implement the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) over the next three years. Additionally, the government has pledged to begin negotiations for future CBAs at the start of each cycle to allow for proper planning and budgeting.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba emphasised the government’s commitment to fostering industrial harmony within the education sector.
“We are committed to creating a stable environment for education by addressing the concerns of lecturers and ensuring that such disruptions do not happen again,” Mr Ogamba stated.
However, as per the agreement, the highest salary for lectures which will be of the research professor will be Sh345,816 in 2024-2025, an increase from Sh283,087 in 2021-2022. Meanwhile, the lowest salary is expected to rise to Sh63,647 in 2024-2025, up from Sh57,729 in 2021-2022.
“The salary adjustments under the said CBA shall take effect starting July 1, 2023 (now past); The basic salary payment to eligible members of staff in Grades 10A-15A shall be effected in the month of December 2024 together with the arrears of October 2024 and November 2024,” read the agreement.
The agreement also outlines provisions for the next CBA cycle (2025-2029), with negotiations set to begin on or before January 31, 2025.
The new CBA will take effect on July 1, 2025, and will cover all allowances, including the harmonization of various other allowances, which will be addressed in the upcoming cycle.
In terms of staffing and retirement, the agreement includes significant changes to the retirement age for academic staff.
The retirement age for Graduate Assistants, Tutorial Fellows, and Assistant Lecturers will be set at 70 years, while the retirement age for Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Associate Professors, and Professors will be set at 74 years.
However, transitional clauses stipulate that academic staff currently holding contracts with higher retirement ages will retain their existing terms until their current contracts expire.
Moreover, staff who have completed a minimum of three consecutive years of service at the university will be eligible for promotion in line with the promotion criteria outlined in the CBA and the Human Resource regulations of IPUCCF and Uasu.
“The Employers' pension contribution payment for all the three (3) Unions viz. Uasu, Kusu and KUDHEIHA Workers shall be computed from the KES 9.76 Billion disbursed for the implementation 2021-2025 CBA,” read the agreement.
