Nationwide varsity strike resume as lecturers’ protest over pay deal

Members of the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) have officially launched a nationwide strike, protesting the government’s failure to implement agreed-upon salary increases.

The strike, which began on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, has disrupted learning and examinations, with lecture halls sitting empty and students stranded.

Many students were gathered outside university gates in small groups, expressing frustration and confusion over the sudden shutdown, while others left the university upon arrival.

At a press conference held at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) in Nairobi, Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga addressed a crowd of striking academic staff.

With a mix of frustration and defiance, he made it clear that lecturers would not return to work until the government fulfilled its promises.

“We will not teach, mark, or supervise exams until the government honours the agreement,” Wasonga declared, his voice resolute.

“We are aware you have been budgeting for a four per cent automatic annual increment, and you have not been paying our members.”

He went on to highlight the glaring disparity between university lecturers and other public service employees, including civil servants and teachers, who have received automatic annual increments as high as 8 per cent..

“Dons are the most learned people in any society. If you can’t pay them well, then who is this person you are paying well?” Wasonga questioned, expressing the union’s dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of their salaries.

Wasonga also accused the government of playing games with the lecturers’ finances, revealing that other public servants have been enjoying salary increments that lecturers were denied.

“I negotiated for you a low percentage of four per cent or nearly four per cent, while others are earning automatic annual increments to the tune of eight per cent,” he stated, vowing to expose these disparities further.

“You have been eating from our sweat.”

The strike stems from the government’s refusal to honour a return-to-work formula negotiated with Uasu on September 26, 2024.

The lecturers had been promised a salary increment of between 7% and 10% as part of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), but the government has only signed for 4.5% which has not been disbursed.

Outraged by what they see as a betrayal, lecturers across the country have dropped their tools, demanding full payment.

At TUK, academic staff were seen picketing and chanting slogans, carrying placards demanding their dues.

The mood was one of determination, as lecturers blocked entrances to classrooms and vowed not to return until their demands were met.

Uasu’s National Chair, Grace Nuongesa, took a firm stance as well, stating that the lecturers were simply asking for what was agreed upon.

“All we want is the return-to-work formula to be honoured. It’s simple mathematics,” she said, adding that even a primary school child could calculate the salary increments owed to the lecturers.

“We are telling the government, who knows better that we will not be scared by anything.”

Beyond salary increments, the lecturers are also demanding health insurance, which they claim has not been provided despite promises made during the CBA negotiations.

The lecturers are particularly frustrated that other unions, including the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), as well as civil servants, were given pay increments of up to 8%, while they were left with far less.

Wasonga hinted that the strike could continue for an extended period, with the potential to shut down universities for a full year if the government does not respond.

“It is either our demands are met, or we take matters into our own hands,” he said, stating that the union had already analyzed the public service payroll and identified discrepancies in automatic annual increments.

As the protest intensifies, Uasu has made it clear that they will not back down until their members receive what they are owed.

"It’s going to be a long haul," Wasonga said. "But we must be firm to ensure that we get what we want."