Public universities staring at another crisis as lecturers strike looms

Operations at public universities are likely to be paralysed from Monday next week when a seven-day strike notice issued by lecturers and staff unions expires, unless a deal is reached to avert it.

The 2021/2022 academic calendar begins in September and any industrial action will disrupt start-of-semester activities. Many universities are scheduled to open from September 6 to admit first-year students. 

University programmes have just been regularised, and a strike will be a big blow to students, who lost considerable learning time last year when all educational institutions closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The dispute arose from the implementation of the 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that the unions say has not been fully executed by some universities. The government last year released Sh6.6 billion for the workers and the money was to be paid in arrears.

The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) wrote to 35 chairpersons of university councils on Monday informing them of the strike notice. 

Uasu secretary-general Constantine Wasonga said yesterday that the strike will kick off at 8am at all 35 universities that have not complied with a court directive to pay money owed to lecturers.

“The councils of all public universities and their constituent colleges have failed to implement the 2017-2021 CBA and attempts at dialogue to resolve this matter have failed,” Dr Wasonga says in the letter. 

Strike notice

“Our members shall withdraw their labour and shall not resume duty until the Uasu-IPUCCF CBA is fully implemented.”

The Kenya Universities Staff Union and Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospital and Allied Workers are also part of the deal with the Inter Public Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF).

“We negotiated for one CBA but now some universities are paying higher than others yet we are doing the same job,” Dr Wasonga said.

The universities that have complied with the court directive are Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Chuka, Kibabii, Masinde Muliro, Garissa, Aluppe University College and Kaimosi Friends University College.

Since the strike notice was issued, only Maseno University has responded by committing to pay their staff and pleading with them not to down tools.

“The university management has forthwith decided to implement the payment of new rates as from July 2021 going forward. Take note that payment of new rates shall definitely affect the university by way of placing serious constraints on our institutions finances,” says a letter signed by Prof Catherine A Muhoma, deputy vice-chancellor for administration, finance and development.

Disruption of learning

Yesterday, University Education and Research Principal Secretary Simon Nabukwesi said the government will release money for the CBA but did not provide a specific date.

“The money was not provided in the 2020/21 financial year but it is provided in the current financial year, the Sh2.2 billion that was remnant of what was negotiated in 2017,” he said. 

“We are in constant communication with the National Treasury and I have been assured that it will be (paid) as soon as possible.” He spoke at the ninth graduation ceremony of the University of Eldoret.

He appealed to lecturers not to disrupt learning.

“I want to urge our lecturers to be tolerant of the young people who aspire to complete their studies. The economy has been seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic but I want to assure you that there is government goodwill to give what you negotiated and it will be provided,” he said.

But Dr Wasonga dismissed the assurances as empty promises and said the strike will go on.

“We don’t want people who talk and do nothing. There has been no commitment from the government,” he told Nation.

Poorly paid and overworked

Earlier this month, Dr Wasonga and union chair Grace Nyongesa wrote to the National Assembly calling for an audit of how the Sh6.6 billion paid to universities was spent. The money was shared by members of the three unions.

“Considering that lecturers and professors are among the most poorly paid and overworked in the country, the failure to implement the 2017-2021 CBA has condemned academic staff to a life of poverty,” the petition says.

“Most public universities did not pay in full the arrears accruing under the 2017-2021 CBA and retained a balance of funds or utilised the balance to pay vice-chancellors, their deputies and other management staff who were not covered by the CBAs.”

Some 22 universities retained various amounts of balances, with Kenyatta University retaining the most (Sh330 million) while Tom Mboya University College kept the least (Sh8.5 million). 

Thirteen universities have not filed their returns to the National Implementation Committee, which oversees the payments.

“The balances arose because different public universities each implemented the CBA in its own way in violation of the court order,” the petition says.

Associate professors at payment Notch 12 from Egerton University received the highest amount of arrears (Sh847,140) whereas those at Tom Mboya received Sh296,495.

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