Lecturers in all public universities will begin a nationwide strike next week after the University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) formally issued a seven-day strike notice.
Uasu has cited delays in the payment of full salaries for their members and the collapse of negotiations for the 2021 – 2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the strike due on Wednesday.
Uasu issued the notice jointly with the Kenya Universities Staff Union (Kusu). The unions expressed frustration over the government's failure to address their concerns, pointing out that other public service employees have enjoyed salary and allowance adjustments since 2021, while university workers have been left behind.
The secretary-general of Uasu, Constantine Wasonga, stated that university employees will withdraw their labour on September 18, 2024, if their demands are not met by then.
“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 Dr Wasonga.
The notice dated September 11, 2024, is addressed to the councils of all public universities and constituent colleges. Uasu 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).
Uasu and Kusu highlighted erosion of their members’ purchasing power due to the declining value of the Kenya shilling, the rising cost of basic commodities, and increased taxation.
“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 Dr Wasonga.
The unions have called on the government and public university councils to urgently address their grievances.
They complained that despite repeated efforts to negotiate, the lack of progress has left university staff and their families facing financial hardships.
“University staff cannot continue to bear the brunt of this neglect. They deserve competitive and reasonable working conditions, as established by law and enshrined in the constitution. Despite giving the government and universities ample time to negotiate, the unions have only seen continued corruption and mismanagement of public funds, while university employees and their families suffer from hunger and hardship,” said Kusu secretary-general Charles Mukhwaya.
Mr Mukwaya said that while the industrial action is not meant to harm students, the university staff has resorted to "other options" to defend their rights.
“We appeal to parents and students to understand that this strike is not intended to punish them but to highlight the plight of university workers. If no resolution is reached, the unions will be forced to pursue other actions to reclaim their rights,” he said.
“Other public sector employees enjoy these benefits, while the university staff are excluded. For example, in the past, university lecturers were entitled to import duty-free cars, a benefit that was taken over by other sectors, leaving university staff behind. This failure by the IPUCCF (Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum) and SRC to harmonise allowances in public universities, despite doing so for other public sector employees, has further widened the gap and led to significant disparities,” said Mr Wasonga.
Moreover, the unions are challenging the SRC’s use of a 50th percentile benchmark to determine staff compensation, which they claim is neither transparent nor backed by public participation. They argue that no clear study or variables have been shared to justify this percentile system.
The unions demanded clarity and that the SRC should not be allowed to unilaterally impose such benchmarks without proper consultation.
“We’ve realised that the salary is currently at the 50th percentile. We want the SRC to be held accountable. In 2017 and 2021, the SRC clearly stated that public university staff, like other public sector employees, are entitled to automatic annual increments, and these should be factored in before implementing the CBA tables. Now, however, they’re claiming these increments are no longer included, but I know they are in the proposed tables, and the budget they’ve offered includes them,” said Dr Wasonga.
