University staff urge Parliament to resolve four-year salary impasse
The staff argue that the delay in implementing the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has created financial strain for thousands of employees.
University employees have turned to Parliament seeking urgent intervention over unpaid salaries and stalled negotiations for the next pay deal, citing a dispute that has lingered for over four years and disrupted operations in public universities.
The staff argue that the delay in implementing the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has created financial strain for thousands of employees.
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The petition, submitted by the National Secretaries of the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU), Dr Constantine Wesonga and Dr Charles Mukhwaya, respectively, was read to the House by Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss.
Boss highlighted the persistent disagreement over the final amounts owed to around 30,000 public university workers.
According to the unions, the 2017–2021 CBA was signed on October 28, 2019, between UASU and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) and later registered with the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
Parliament had allocated funds through the Supplementary II Budget Estimates for FY 2019/2020, which were incorporated into the Supplementary Appropriations Act, 2020.
“In order to fund the 2017–2021 CBAs, Parliament approved in May 2020 the Supplementary II Budget Estimates for the FY 2019/2020, which contained allocation for the CBA, and subsequently appropriated the funds under the Supplementary Appropriations Act, 2020,” the petition reads.
The unions contend that the Treasury, through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST), released Sh6.6 billion in July 2020 as partial funding for the CBAs, with the remaining Sh2.2 billion expected in the 2021/2022 budget. However, only Sh2 billion was released, leaving a shortfall of KSh200 million.
Failure to pay full arrears, the petitioners said, breaches the terms of employment for professors, lecturers, assistant lecturers, tutorial fellows, and graduate assistants, with no university having settled all dues under the 2017–2021 CBA.
“The matter was taken to the Employment and Labour Relations Court vide Case No. ELRC CBA and 3 of 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The matter was subsequently determined by the said Court, and it proceeded to the Court of Appeal, where it was settled in their favour, making interim orders for partial implementation,” Deputy Speaker Boss stated.
The unions claim that the cost of fully implementing the 2017–2021 CBA, including pensions and other liabilities, totals Sh16.57 billion, far above the Sh8.8 billion estimate by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
They also stressed that discussions for the 2025–2029 CBA must begin immediately. “We will not return to work until even the new 2025–2029 CBA is discussed and agreed upon,” they said.
In line with parliamentary procedure under Standing Order 225(2)(b), the Deputy Speaker referred the petition to the Departmental Committee on Education, chaired by Julius Melly, which plans to meet the Treasury and MOEST next week to address the dispute.
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