Lecturers in public universities are set to go on strike from September 30 after the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) issued a seven-day strike notice.
UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga announced the planned strike on Thursday, September 24, citing delays in implementing the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The union said the decision followed the failure by university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury to honour a Return-to-Work Formula signed on November 5, 2025.
UASU also accused the government of failing to present a financial counter-proposal for the new CBA, despite negotiations having been ongoing since last year.
According to the union, other public sector workers have already concluded their 2025-2029 CBAs, leaving university lecturers without a similar agreement.
“This painful decision follows the persistent failure by the councils of universities, the Ministry of Education, and the National Treasury to honour the Return-to-Work Formula signed on 5th November 2025,” UASU said.
The union’s latest move follows a meeting with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on Monday, September 21.
UASU said SRC informed university-sector unions that neither the Ministry of Education nor the National Treasury had given a written commitment that funding for the universities’ CBAs would come through the National Exchequer.
The commission consequently said it could not issue the constitutional advice needed to facilitate financial counter-proposals to the unions, according to UASU.
The lecturers’ union questioned the negotiations that have been taking place at Machakos University since last year, following the latest position communicated by SRC.
The planned strike will be happening just about one month after the threat of UASU that lecturers may stop working if the agreement is not put into action by the government.
In an August 14 press release, the union stated that although the 2025-2029 CBA was expected to be signed in November 2025, it has since been hanging.
With the ongoing strike, lecturers from public universities will stop teaching as from September 30.