Thousands of students hoping to join public universities across Kenya may face significant disruptions after the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) announced it was considering going on strike.
KUSU Secretary General Charles Mukhwaya revealed the union’s intentions during an interview on Spice FM, citing the government’s failure to initiate structured dialogue on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) covering the 2025 – 2029 period.
Mukhwaya dismissed claims that a new CBA was awaiting signing, clarifying that no negotiations had begun. He noted that the union had already submitted proposals to relevant agencies, including university councils, but had yet to receive a formal response.
"The 2025 – 2029 is the successor CBA that is supposed to be negotiated. Contrary to information out there, it is not ready for signing. We ought to have negotiated, signed, and begun implementation as of July 2025," Mukhwaya stated.
According to him, once proposals were submitted, university councils should have reviewed them and convened a joint negotiating committee to begin talks. However, no such engagement has taken place.
“These guys got our proposals and have never called us to the table. And that is where the clamour is. We are already late, and they have yet to call us. Instead, they are busy coming up with generic human resource instruments,” he added.
He warned that continued delays could spark industrial action. “They are supposed to call us to the table. Any delays they cause would necessitate a strike. The longer they stay, we are going to go for them.”
Mukhwaya, however, acknowledged that the government had made progress in implementing the current 2021 – 2025 CBA, which is still ongoing.
“We did agree with the government that this CBA would be implemented in tranches. We received the first tranche in December. The second should have been sent by July 1 and the last by the end of the financial year,” he said.
The KUSU boss also hit out at Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi over remarks suggesting that public universities may need to shoulder more financial responsibility through restructuring and retrenchments.
He accused Mbadi of being insensitive to the plight of university staff and students, pointing out that the CS had previously worked at the University of Nairobi and should have been more empathetic.
However, the union welcomed the government’s proposals to do financial restructuring, maintaining that so long as it was done in a manner that respects the staff's rights, the union would have no problem with the same.
