Crisis Looms as Lecturers Issue 7-Day Nationwide Strike Notice

The government has been given seven days to address grievances raised by universities or brace for a nationwide strike.
Led by the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU), the lecturers threatened to paralyse learning in all public universities and colleges across the country if the government failed to heed their demands.
While issuing the strike notice, UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga faulted the government for failing to implement the 2021-2025 and 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) between the union and the government in full.
Speaking before members of the press on Wednesday, September 10, Wesonga expressed his frustration at the government’s continued delay in honouring the CBAs worth billions, despite multiple meetings and formal submissions.
He noted that the union had exhausted all available avenues for dialogue, accusing the Interpublic Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) and the government of undermining the agreement following rigorous discussions.
“Today we are issuing a seven-day strike notice over failure by the government to implement the 2021-2025 Phase 2 CBA arrears for the 2025-2026 Financial Year totaling Ksh2.73 billion,” Wesonga noted.
“We can not wait any longer. But do not be surprised because we are used to this game. There is no CBA in public universities that we have negotiated without going on strike. And since it is what they want, now we are taking the game to their doorstep,” he added.
The latest follows amajor strike witnessed in October 2024,over delayed payment of salary arrears owed and failure in the implementation of the 2021-2025 CBA they had inked with the government in 2021.
The strike led to prolonged disruptions in academic activities due to the lecturers’ demands for better working conditions, pay, and a seven to ten per cent basic salary increment, as well as a four per cent annual increase on their basic salary.
On Tuesday, October 29, 2024, the day when the strike commenced, the government had attempted to make a last-ditch effort to prevent the strike.
However, a scheduled meeting between the National Assembly Committee on Education, Vice Chancellors, and UASU officials failed to bear any fruit after the parties did not reach an agreement due to the government’s delay in the release of funds meant for salaries.
Fast forward to January 2025,UASU once again issued a strike notice over delayed salaries,barely 40 days after signing a return-to-work formula with the State.
According to UASU, the government had failed to honouran agreement signed on November 23 last year.The agreement had ended a 24-day strike that disrupted all 35 public universities and two constituent colleges.
The agreement had included implementing the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) valued at Ksh9.7 billion.
The CBA was to be implemented in three phases, with the first tranche of Ksh4.3 billion covering nine months up to June 2025. The remaining Ksh5.4 billion was to be disbursed in two equal instalments of Ksh2.7 billion each.
As part of the agreement, the highest salary for lecturers, specifically for research professors, would increase from Ksh283,087 in 2021-2022 to Ksh345,816 in 2024-2025. The lowest salary was expected to rise from Ksh57,729 to Ksh63,647 over the same period.
It remains to be seen how the government will react to the new strike notice, especially after first-year university students reported for learning last week.