University lecturers dismiss SRC’s Sh3.1 billion offer for 2025–2029 CBA
In a letter dated October 21 to SRC Acting Secretary and CEO Margaret Njoka, UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said the union had declined the counteroffer and was appealing the guidelines issued by the commission earlier this month.
Public university lecturers have rejected the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) proposal to renegotiate their 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement, accusing the commission of undermining their right to fair and open negotiations.
The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) said it could not accept the Sh3.1 billion allocation proposed by SRC and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), describing it as inadequate and detached from the current economic situation.
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In a letter dated October 21 to SRC Acting Secretary and CEO Margaret Njoka, UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said the union had declined the counteroffer and was appealing the guidelines issued by the commission earlier this month.
“UASU hereby registers complete rejection of the IPUCCF’s counter-offer and formally appeals the guiding SRC beacons for the 2025–29 CBA received on October 10, 2025,” Wasonga said.
He stated that the proposals failed to meet the principles of fair remuneration as provided under Article 41(2)(a) of the Constitution, which calls for equitable pay to attract and retain qualified professionals in the public sector.
“Furthermore, your advisory and the attendant IPUCCF counter-offer fails to adhere to the principle of fair remuneration – Article 41(2)(a) – and the constitutional need to attract and retain necessary skills in the public sector,” he wrote.
The lecturers accused SRC of dictating final positions instead of offering a range of figures open for negotiation, which they said goes against Article 41(5) of the Constitution that safeguards the right to collective bargaining.
“The SRC beacons and the entire counter-offer by the IPUCCF are viewed as an imposition of final positions on the union rather than the provision of negotiation ranges, thereby undermining our right to genuine collective bargaining as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya,” Dr Wasonga said.
UASU argued that the Sh3.1 billion allocation does not reflect the rising cost of living or inflation, and therefore fails to match the true worth of university lecturers’ labour.
“We cannot accept figures that fail to reflect the true value of academic labour,” Wasonga said.
The union also criticised what it termed as pay discrimination within the public sector, pointing out that teachers had received salary increases of between 12 and 29.5 per cent for the same period.
UASU maintained that such disparities were unfair and demoralising to lecturers who play a crucial role in higher education.
With the strike now in its sixth week, the union insisted that it would not return to the negotiating table unless SRC and IPUCCF present a revised offer that meets constitutional and economic fairness standards.
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