It's black Christmas for 1,500 Egerton staff as they face retrenchment
Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) national secretary-general Constantine Wasonga (second right) and other union officials during the launch of Egerton University lecturers strike at Njoro Campus on October 17, 2022.
It's black Christmas for more than 1,500 workers at the financially battered Egerton University as the institution has declared staff redundancies across all cadre of staff just four days to Christmas.
The Njoro-based campus said in a notice to all staff on December 21 that it was undergoing financial difficulties and was not able to pay its staff salaries which are in arrears.
“Following the difficulties the university has undergone in meeting the full requirements for staff and other emoluments and benefits, the University Council on advice has reached a decision to declare staff redundancies across all cadres of staff in a bid to manage the wage bill,” said the notice signed by Prof Richard Mulwa the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration, Planning and Development.
Added Prof Mulwa: “ The redundancies are meant to bring more efficiency in delivering the university’s mandate to its employees and customers.”
Prof Mulwa did not elaborate on the date when the redundancies will kick off but assured the staff the process will be fair.
“The process will be conducted fairly and within the confines of the law as provided in the Employment Act 2007, laws of Kenya,” said Prof Mulwa.
The firing notice comes at a time when the 83-year-old institution is facing a herculean task to manage its more than Sh200million wage bill and its Sh9billion financial burden.
However, for many lecturers, non-teaching staff and other education stakeholders, the notice did not come as a shock.
“Egerton’s crisis is unsurprising if you've been paying attention to the decline at this institution. The management and the university council have failed to deliver. How come other public universities are still remaining afloat? There must be something wrong with the management in the way they have been handling this crisis,” said one of the lecturers.
Added another lecturer: “Is this the Christmas gift that the university management has seen fit to give its hardworking workers even after slashing their salaries by 40 per cent?”
“I’m owed more than Sh1.7 million in salary arrears since the university started paying me 60 per cent of my salary yet it has issued a notice to sack employees. They must pay us all our outstanding allowances before declaring this illegal redundancy notice otherwise the legal battle will intensify next year,” said a don.
Egerton University's top management led by Vice-Chancellor Prof Isaac Ongubo Kibwage has a date with the Employment and Labour Relations Court on January 23, 2023, after it failed to implement a court order to revert to full salary payments to members of the University Academic Staff Union (Uasu).
Prof Kibwage and eight other council members were fined Sh100,000 for disobeying the court orders by slashing the Uasu members' November salaries by 40 per cent.
However, Prof Kibwage who has had a rough time managing the institution since he was appointed slightly over a year ago maintained that the university has no funds to pay the staff full salaries.
Disgruntled staff have accused Prof Kibwage of highhandedness a claim he has constantly denied.
“The problem with Egerton is the VC who has refused to listen and work with the union to resolve the financial crisis at the university,” said a senior-non teaching staff member.
Said another don: “The education reforms that the Kenya Kwanza government is touting daily should start at Egerton university by overhauling the entire management and the university council which has failed to deliver.”
“The shortage of money at Egerton is a universal problem and is not unique to Egerton University. What is happening at Egerton is a financial problem that I inherited,” said Prof Kibwage.
