Public university staff unions accuse VCs of secretly restructuring jobs without consultation
KUSU has called out vice-chancellors for allegedly misusing a human resource review started by the Public Service Commission, turning it into a way to sideline staff and tighten control.
Public university staff unions have accused vice-chancellors of quietly changing job grading systems without involving them, a move they say puts jobs at risk and goes against existing collective bargaining agreements.
The unions claim the process has been taken over by university administrators to serve their own interests, ignoring proper legal procedures.
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The Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) has called out vice-chancellors for allegedly misusing a human resource review started by the Public Service Commission (PSC), turning it into a way to sideline staff and tighten control.
“The PSC’s intention to align HR instruments in state corporations with its guidelines has been hijacked by Vice Chancellors under the guise of strengthening human resource management,” KUSU Secretary-General Charles Mukhwaya said on Wednesday.
He claimed that the process had been weaponised to impose changes that significantly alter employees’ job grades and weaken their employment terms outside the framework of registered CBAs.
“This process has been weaponised to restructure job grades and downgrade terms and conditions of service outside the CBA framework,” Mukhwaya said.
Mass job losses
The union has warned that unless university councils and the government intervene, the unilateral changes could destabilise employment conditions, trigger mass job losses and provoke unrest in the already strained public university sector.
Mukhwaya noted that while aligning HR practices with statutory frameworks is in principle welcome, it must be carried out transparently and in consultation with staff unions.
He accused vice-chancellors of deliberately excluding unions from the review process and undermining protections that had been hard-won through collective agreements and court registration.
“The vice-chancellors are brazenly engaged in a unilateral variation of employees’ terms and conditions of service that had previously been mutually negotiated and registered in court,” he said.
Altering job structures
According to KUSU, administrators are altering job structures to favour a select few while dismantling existing employment safeguards.
Mukhwaya cited the downgrading of negotiated grades and the introduction of new senior positions allegedly intended to benefit retiring vice-chancellors.
“This includes downgrading negotiated job grades, creating lofty positions to benefit retiring VCs, and eroding staff protections enshrined in CBAs,” he said.
KUSU further accused the university leadership of breaching constitutional labour rights, disregarding due process, and violating International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions alongside Kenyan labour laws.
Illegitimate overhaul
The union has vowed to oppose what it terms an illegitimate overhaul of employment terms, warning of legal and industrial action if the restructuring is not reversed.
“Any attempt to vary the terms and conditions of service for university staff through the backdoor will be rejected in totality,” Mukhwaya said.
“KUSU will resist machinations that seek to disenfranchise and subject its members to unfair labour practices.”
The union has now demanded an immediate suspension of the ongoing changes and insisted that any adjustments to HR structures must be negotiated jointly with staff unions and submitted to the PSC only after consensus is reached.
“We are not opposed to reforms. What we are demanding is due process, transparency, and respect for the rights of workers. We call on public universities to engage the union in structured negotiations so that any new HR instruments are a joint product, not an imposition,” Mukhwaya said.
The dispute comes amid continued tension between university administrations and staff unions over issues including underfunding, delayed implementation of CBAs and deteriorating staff welfare.
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