Lecturers’ efforts to resolve their ongoing strike have hit a standstill after the collapse of fresh talks between the government and university staff unions. The failure of the negotiations means that the industrial action, now in its fourth week, will continue to paralyse learning across all public universities.
During a press briefing in Nairobi on Wednesday, the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary General, Constantine Wesonga, accused the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) of derailing the talks and frustrating efforts to reach an agreement.
Wesonga, who spoke on behalf of the UASU, KUDHEIHA, and KUSU unions, claimed that the SRC had overstepped its advisory role and was interfering directly in collective bargaining, stating that the commission’s actions had made it impossible for university lecturers to negotiate effectively with their employer.
''As per labour conventions, we are supposed to negotiate with our employer. However, SRC is supposed to give its advisory, but the way they are giving that advisory, it seems they do not allow workers to negotiate with their employer,'' Wesonga stated.
The SG criticised the commission for limiting salary proposals to Ksh3 billion over four years, describing the amount as too little to cater to all the university workers across the country.
''If they (SRC) want, they can come and negotiate with us. How can you give Ksh3 billion for four years? How is that supposed to be shared among all three unions?'' he posed.
Key Demands
Wesonga further accused the government of ignoring key labour demands, including the implementation of automatic annual salary increments and the remittance of statutory deductions that have reportedly been withheld in several institutions across the country.
He also pointed out that some universities had failed to provide medical insurance and pension schemes for their staff, worsening the financial and welfare crisis among lecturers.
The unions expressed disappointment that the government’s latest proposals did not address the major welfare concerns that have affected public universities for years.
Message to Students
Wesonga and other union officials appealed to students to remain patient, saying the strike was necessary to push for long-term reforms that would eventually improve the quality of education. ''We want to plead with our students to bear with us so that we can complete this matter once and for all. When we start learning next year, we do not want any other disruptions,'' he said.
With the talks having collapsed, the unions announced plans to escalate the industrial action by devolving the strike to individual university chapters across the country.
Government Position
On Friday last week, speaking during the launch of the National Examination and Assessments season, the CS Julius Ogamba confirmed that the government had formally engaged the SRC to guide the negotiation framework for the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
He disclosed that the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) had already convened negotiation sessions in September. However, he faulted UASU for failing to attend the initial meetings.
