Lecturers to resume strike in seven days if salary hike is delayed

University staff unions have given the government a one-week ultimatum to increase their salaries or face a nationwide strike.

The unions, including the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), have accused the government of failing to honour the return-to-work agreement signed on September 26, 2024, which aimed to resolve their long-standing pay grievances.

“Implement the return-to-work formula or we go back to the streets,” UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said.

He urged union members to prepare for the strike, saying, "Start jogging, the streets are calling."

According to the unions, the government had committed to increasing the basic monthly salary of university staff by seven to 10 per cent in their October salaries, as part of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

This increment was to be calculated at four per cent of the basic salary over two years, starting from July 1, 2023. However, Wasonga claimed that the government has failed to implement this agreement.

“Our members expect the new salaries next week. We’re not going to shy away from calling another strike. Don't try us. If the CBA is not honoured by Tuesday, we will be on the streets,” he said, warning universities not to pay salaries without incorporating the agreed increments.

The failure to implement the CBA, according to the unions, has caused tension and anxiety among university staff, threatening to disrupt industrial peace.

The unions called off their initial strike after reaching an agreement with the government in September. The government had then agreed to fast-track the full implementation of the return-to-work formula, which included salary adjustments for various ranks of university staff.

Police fire tear gas at lecturers protesting in Nairobi CBD on Monday, September 23, 2024. (Photo: Handout)

The CBA stipulated that graduate assistants should earn between Sh63,647 and Sh97,988, assistant lecturers between Sh107,872 and Sh166,072, and professors a minimum of Sh224,631 and a maximum of Sh345,816.

Despite the initial agreement, the unions now say the government has failed to uphold its promises.

“We don’t eat promises or promissory notes. If it takes years, we don’t care, as long as our members’ concerns aren't taken care of. We want something tangible,” Wasonga said.

The unions had previously issued a strike notice on September 11, prompting Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba to invite them to a meeting on September 16. However, the talks ended in a deadlock.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua went ahead and established an inter-ministerial negotiating team to address the strike, which had taken place for two weeks, crippling learning activities across public universities.

The formed committee aimed to focus on key issues raised by the unions and work towards finalising the return-to-work formula.

The team included representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), public universities, the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC), and both unions.