Education CS Julius Ogamba has revealed Sh5.4 billion is at the centre of the standoff between the government and the striking public university lecturers.
The dons under the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) are on strike over the non-implementation of a salary increase agreement signed last month.
The CS said the stalemate stems from the difference in figures on the simulation of salary increments agreed upon in a return to-work formula signed between the government and the unions.
“That is the discussion we are having to find out the reasons for the difference. We are working to find a middle ground and agree on the actual figure. We have a meeting this afternoon to discuss the issue,” Ogamba said.
He spoke when he appeared before the Senate plenary yesterday to respond to members’ questions.
However, the CS said he would meet Uasu officials after an earlier planned meeting failed to materialise.
An earlier team set up to negotiate with the striking dons on behalf of the government failed to reach a middle ground.
The CS said that according to the ministry’s simulation of the agreed-upon salary increment, the figure stands at Sh4.3 billion.
However, he pointed out that the figure differs from the simulation by the public university staff unions, which place their total at Sh9.76 billion.
“When the simulation was done, the figure that the government has against the figure by Uasu differs by almost Sh5 billion,” Ogamba said.
The CS said the two parties agreed on a seven and 10 per cent basic salary increment for different job grades.
He said an actual calculation had to be done to arrive at the total budget.
Ogamba said just like other ministries, his ministry suffered budget cuts following the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, 2024.
The lecturers had issued a seven-day strike notice last week after failing to agree with the government on the implementation of a return-to-work formula they signed barely a month ago when they boycotted work demanding better pay.
The previous strike was suspended on September 26.
In the agreement, there was to be a basic salary increment of seven per cent for job grades 13 to 15 and 10 per cent for job grades 10 to 12.
The lecturers will also benefit from an automatic annual increment computed at four per cent of the basic salary for the two years of the CBA cycle that began on July 1, 2023.
As part of the deal, the university workers will benefit from an automatic annual increment computed at four per cent of the basic salary for the two years of the CBA cycle beginning July 1, 2023.
The parties also agreed that the retirement age for graduate assistants, tutorial fellows and assistant lecturers be harmonised at 70 while senior lecturers, associate professors and professors retire at 74.
According to tabulations by a joint committee tasked with developing salary scales for the CBA covering between 2021 and 2025 for staff in public universities, the implementation of the agreement requires Sh9.76 billion, more than double the amount needed for the increment backdated by two years.
In scenario one of the tabulations, the basic salary would account for Sh3.15 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30 this year and Sh4.97 billion in the subsequent financial year.
Twenty per cent pension component would see Sh631.4 million expended in the first fiscal year and Sh985.19 million in the following financial year.
In scenario two, the number would be Sh9.67 billion where the exact figures for the financial year ending June 30 this, remain the same but the basic salary component reduced by Sh70.52 million.
The unions had gone on industrial strike last month over delayed negotiations and implementation of the CBAs.
