Learning in all public universities across the country will be paralysed beginning midnight today (Monday) after the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) announced that it will officially begin its strike.
According to UASU, the strike will begin at midnight after all their efforts to dialogue with the government failed to reach an agreement.
‘’I want to tell UASU members wherever they are, just work today up to midnight, after which you should down your tools,’’ the UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga urged.
‘’If you have given a member 7 percent it will show, we are not dealing with illiterate people who don’t know how to calculate 7 and 4 percent so you cannot cheat them. You want UASU officials to be part of that manipulation, that one we will not do,’’ he added.
The union disclosed that they had been engaging the government to sign a return to work formula and the last attempt to reach an agreement failed during a meeting held on September 26.
This came despite recent government attempts to convince the dons to return to class with a promise of advancing the negotiations to a ministerial level.
On September 25, Cabinet Secretary for Labour Alfred Mutua announced that he had escalated the negotiations to include representatives from the Ministry of Labour, Education as well as those from the Treasury to help the two sides reach a deal.
CS Mutua also promised to increase the retirement threshold for all academic staff, including graduate assistants, tutorial fellows, and assistant lecturers.
‘’During the meeting, which was attended by UASU Secretary General Dr. Constantine Wasonga and KUSU Secretary General Dr. Charles Mukhwaya among other members, we agreed on the formation of an inter-ministerial negotiating team. This committee will address the key concerns raised by the unions and work toward a return-to-work agreement,’’ Mutua stated.
‘’The team will comprise representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), public universities, the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC), and the unions,’’ he added.
The strike will commence following the expiration of a seven-day notice that UASU and other staff unions had given to the government, after which they will initiate their industrial action.
The unions, including the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), faulted the government, accusing it of negligence despite initially promising to fulfill their demands.
Learning at higher institutions will be paralyzed due to the strike, coming just weeks after a similar strike was suspended when staff unions agreed to enter negotiations with the government.
