University lecturers in Kenya are set to begin a nationwide strike on October 2 after the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) issued a seven-day notice. The union is demanding that the government negotiate, sign, and implement the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with funding from the national exchequer. UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga announced the strike notice, citing prolonged delays by the government and university councils to resolve outstanding issues.
The union's decision to strike comes after failed negotiations with the government and university councils. Wasonga accused the government of mishandling the higher education sector, warning that the strike could bring public universities to a standstill. He claimed that the government owes public universities over KSh 100 billion, contributing to financial difficulties and affecting areas such as pension contributions and statutory deductions.
UASU is opposed to plans that could see university staff salaries financed through student fees. Wasonga argued that national CBAs cannot be funded by individual universities and should be funded from the national exchequer. He rejected the suggestion that individual universities should be responsible for financing national collective bargaining agreements, citing concerns that universities may not be financially capable of meeting the obligations.
The union has previously raised concerns over delayed funding, staffing shortages, excessive workloads, and outstanding obligations affecting public universities. Wasonga claimed that the financial challenges facing universities have affected several areas, including pension contributions and statutory deductions. He also questioned how universities could operate as profit-making institutions while relying on student payments to meet their obligations.
Wasonga criticized proposals under the emerging university funding framework that would see funding follow students. He argued that the model could eventually leave universities relying on student fees to finance staff salaries. The union demands that the government commit to funding university staff salaries through the exchequer and that the national CBA be negotiated and financed at the national level.
UASU wants the government to commit within the seven-day period to negotiate, sign, register, and implement the 2025-2029 CBA. The union also demands that the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury provide the necessary financial commitment. Wasonga challenged university vice-chancellors to speak openly about the challenges facing the institutions, accusing some of giving the government an inaccurate picture of the new university funding model.
The strike notice comes amid a dispute over the financing and implementation of the 2025-2029 CBA. Wasonga said the government had previously committed to providing the necessary financial framework for negotiations, but the union's efforts to obtain the required commitment from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) did not bear fruit. The SRC indicated that it could not provide the necessary approval because the government had not committed to funding the CBA.
Key points
- University lecturers in Kenya will begin a nationwide strike on October 2 due to a dispute over the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
