Kenya’s public universities are staring at a possible nationwide shutdown again, as lecturers have threatened to down their tools should the government not act on historical grievances in the next seven days.
The ultimatum was issued by the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU), and it has blamed the government for the slow pace in the full implementation of the historical agreements that were inked years back.
The 2021–2025 and 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) are at the heart of the impasse, which the union leaders say are still largely unimplemented.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, September 10, UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga did not mince his words. Apparently irked, Wesonga accused the government and the Interpublic Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) of sidelining the union, despite what he described as many meetings and submissions that were supposed to bring the standoff to an end.
“Today we are issuing a seven-day strike notice owing to the government’s inability to implement the 2021–2025 Phase 2 CBA arrears, which amount to Ksh2.73 billion for the 2025–2026 financial year,” said Wesonga.
“We can’t wait any longer. But don’t be surprised this has become a pattern. There’s never been a CBA in public universities that we’ve successfully negotiated without resorting to a strike. If that’s the only language they understand, then we’re bringing the battle to their doorstep.”
This fresh threat brings back memories of the October 2024 strike, which grounded academic work nationwide. That strike was called over the same issues delayed payment of salary arrears and failure to implement the 2021–2025 CBA. It took almost a month, and it left the students stranded and the universities in limbo.
The lecturers were demanding improved working conditions, including a minimum salary increase of 7–10% and a 4% annual increment.
A meeting on October 29, 2024, in a last-minute attempt to cancel the strike, resulted in a stalemate after government officials failed to guarantee the disbursement of the funds.
Even after the strike had been suspended with a return-to-work formula signed on November 23, 2024, things did not completely calm down.
Less than two months later, in January 2025, UASU was again making headlines this time issuing another strike notice over delayed payments, accusing the government of breaching the very agreement that had restored tranquility.
That deal was not a minor one. Worth Ksh9.7 billion, it made provision for a three-phase disbursement of the funds. The first Ksh4.3 billion was for the payment of salaries up to June 2025, and the remaining Ksh5.4 billion was to be settled in two installments of Ksh2.7 billion each.
As per the agreement, top-ranked lecturers like research professors were to see their salaries rise from Ksh283,087 in 2021–2022 to Ksh345,816 at the end of the 2024–2025 financial year.
The lowest lecturers were also to benefit, as the salary scale was set to move from Ksh57,729 to Ksh63,647 during the same period.
Coming as the public universities have just reopened and thousands of freshmen students resumed class last week, the timing of the latest threat to strike could not be more disruptive.
All eyes are on the government now. Will it act quickly to avert another academic crisis, or are students and staff bracing for another season of learning disruption?