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Roundup: Kenyan university lecturers issue strike ultimatum over pay rise

Xinhua, January 13, 2017 Adjust font size:

Lecturers from Kenya's public universities on Thursday threatened to down tools if the government fails to implement a salary rise deal signed in 2013 within a week.

The latest strike notice issued by unions representing teaching and non-teaching staff in public universities threatened to paralysis the country's education sector that has been earmarked for major reforms this year.

The University Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) jointly issued the strike notice citing the government's dithering in the implementation of 2013-2017 comprehensive bargaining agreement (CBA) on better remuneration and working conditions.

Secretary-General of KUSU Charles Mukhwaya said lecturers and subordinate workers will down tools if the state fails to implement the salary hike deal in the next one week.

"We urge the government to embrace dialogue and hasten implementation of the salary increment deal signed with unions to stave off the looming strike," said Mukhwaya.

He said the strike was the last option and the university teaching fraternity was not keen to plunge the education sector into a crisis that is currently engulfing the health sector.

The union chief said they should not be blamed if their strike begins on Jan. 19.

The pay dispute between government and university workers has been going on for years, with lecturers and non-academic staff calling for strikes.

In the recent past, the pay dispute saw lecturers down tools accusing the government of failing to implement in total a 2008/2009 CBA signed between unions and Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum.

The lecturers were then pushing for 40-percent pay hike. The salary talks are long overdue -- the Salaries and Remunerations Commission directed all government departments in 2012 to initiate talks that would culminate in CBAs for 2013-17.

The looming strike will affect 33 public universities where majority of youth from low-income families enroll for higher education.

Union officials claimed that the last time teaching staff in public universities were awarded a salary increase was in 2010.

They regretted that salaries for university teaching staff have remained stagnant for a long period during which the cost of living rose tremendously.

University lecturers have since mid last year threatened to go on strike due to poor remuneration despite their heavy workload.

Experts have sounded alarm over escalating standoff between the government and university staff, saying it could plunge education sector into a prolonged crisis that would have ripple effects across other sectors of the economy.

There was no comment from the ministry of education on the university lecturers' strike ultimatum. Endit