Efforts to put an end to lecturers’ strike have stalled again following fresh negotiations between the government and the unions of university employees, which collapsed, bringing education at public universities to a halt for a fourth successive week.
In Nairobi on Wednesday, University Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary General Constantine Wesonga accused the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) of taking over negotiations and blocking the path to a reasonable settlement.
Wesonga addressing the UASU, KUDHEIHA, and KUSU unions, stated that the commission had gone beyond its advisory function and was now handling collective bargaining directly.
“Under labour law, we are required to bargain with our employer. SRC should advise us and not dictate to us. But the way in which they are advising, it is like they do not want us to bargain,” he asserted.
The union boss also condemned SRC’s Ksh3 billion four-year increase offer as being bland.
“How are you going to divide Ksh3 billion among all three unions and the thousands of workers in the universities? If they wish, SRC can come and negotiate with us,” he said.
Wesonga criticized the government for ignoring basic demands like automatic annual pay increase and compensation of statutory deductions purportedly delayed in different institutions.
He also added that the majority of universities had not given medical cover and pension schemes, all included in lecturers’ welfare crisis.
The government’s new proposals did not address the root causes of problems that have afflicted the education sector in the past, according to him.
The union called upon the students to be patient during the strike, referring to the industrial action was for the sake of achieving permanent improvement in the quality of tertiary education.
“We want our students to understand. We want this issue dealt with once and for all so that when we resume learning, we will not have to suffer the same thing,” Wesonga went on.
With negotiations faltering, the unions announced they will step up the strike by expanding the action on all university campuses nationwide.
Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba, in officiating the National Examination and Assessment week ago, affirmed that the government had indeed tasked the SRC to help develop the template for the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Ogamba stated the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) had September meeting sessions but faulted UASU for failing to attend the initial meetings.
The impasse does not appear to abate for the moment and as each week passes, the giddiness in lecture halls grows louder.
