Employment and Labour Court on Wednesday declared the nationwide lecturers' strike illegal directing the government and the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) to initiate negotiations and reach an amicable solution.
The ruling came barely a day after UASU workers resumed strike at midnight on Monday, October 28, after being ignored by the government.
The Union and its members had on Tuesday, October 22, issued a fresh 7-day notice to the government vowing to down their tools on October 29 should their demands remain unmet.
Justice Agnes Nzei while issuing the verdict noted the ongoing lecturers’ strike as unprotected. "The strike called by the Respondent (UASU), set to commence on October 29, 2024, is hereby declared unprotected. The Respondent and/or its officials are restrained from inciting their members to participate in this unprotected strike," she ruled.
At the same time, the Court granted UASU 14 days to file a response on the matter. The case will be mentioned on November 28.
UASU resumed the strike after the failure of the government to implement the 2021 - 2025 National Collective Bargain Agreement (CBA) as per the law.
The notice by UASU was signed by the national secretary general of the Union, Constantine Wasonga, and was endorsed by 38 tertiary institutions among them 35 public universities and 3 colleges across the country. The lecturers faulted the government for failing to implement their agreed CBA.
Earlier on September 13, UASU met with Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, where parties reached an agreement for salary increments for all university workers.
The parties had agreed on a pay increase of between 7 per cent and 10 per cent for university staff, with those in grades 13A–15A receiving a 7 per cent increase and those in grades 10A–12A receiving a 10 per cent increase.
CS Mutua had also consented to an increase in the retirement threshold for all academic staff, including graduate assistants, tutorial fellows, and assistant lecturers. Following the agreement, the retirement age for all academic staff was capped at 70 years. However, despite the agreements, nothing was implemented.
UASU revealed they have been engaging the government to sign a return to work formula with the last attempt to reach an agreement bearing no fruits in 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.
It waits to be seen whether the government and the Union will meet an agreement to avert the lecture's strike which has paralysed learning in tertiary institutions across the country.
