The government will be seeking the court's intervention to address the persisting lecturers' strike that has paralysed learning in all public universities, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has revealed.
Appearing before the Senate plenary on Wednesday, Ogamba noted that both parties will appear before the Court on October 6 to chart the way forward.
He, however, informed the lawmakers that discussions were ongoing to resolve the stalemate, though he accused the lecturers of reportedly lacking sincerity in their grievances.
He stated that the government had honoured all agreements under the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), but revealed that a dispute arose over the exact amount required to settle the 2017–2021 CBA.
The CS further stated that the courts had already issued an injunction against the strike and directed the parties to engage in talks and verify the precise sums to be paid, but the lecturers defied the orders, forcing both parties to revert to court next week.
"The lecturers are on strike because of three different issues arising from three different CBAs. They raised an issue with the 2017/2021 CBA," Ogamba told lawmakers.
"So from the CBA, there is a question that is being asked about how much is the outstanding balance between what the union is asking for and what the government says is owed to the lecturers," he added.
Ogamba's statement follows a presser by the striking lecturers on Wednesday morning, who vowed not to return to work until their demands are fully met.
Speaking at a joint presser in Nairobi, the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) National Chairperson Grace Nyongesa said that no negotiations were currently underway.
"We shall remain outside until the issues we raised are addressed. There are no negotiations that are currently underway," Nyongesa insisted.
He further said, "We do not want a trend of negotiating CBAs at the end of the cycles. The 2021-2025 CBA must be implemented in full before negotiation of the 2025-2029 CBA."
The lecturers who began striking a fortnight ago want the government to settle a Ksh7.9 billion, which is outstanding from the 20217-2025 CBA before beginning talks for a new CBA.
