UNIVERSITY LECTURERS STRIKE DESPITE TREASURY REALEASE OF KSH.2.5 BILLION

Members of the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) have gone on strike despite a recent funding boost from the National Treasury. Lecturers at the University of Nairobi (UoN) and Maseno University downed their tools on Wednesday, insisting that their financial demands outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) remain unmet. This comes even after Treasury released Ksh.2.5 billion for Phase 2 implementation of the 2021–2025 CBAs in an attempt to avert industrial action.

Speaking on Wednesday, UoN’s UASU Chapter Secretary, Dr. Maloba Wekesa, accused the State of failing lecturers by ignoring pending arrears. He noted that Ksh.7.9 billion owed under the 2017 CBA remains unpaid, despite a court ruling compelling the government to honour the deal. “Staff members have been reduced to beggars. Phase 2 was supposed to have been paid already. We gave the government seven days after a three-month delay, yet nothing was done,” he said, referring to a CBA signed in November 2024.

He recalled that the 2017–2021 CBA faced similar challenges, taking three years to be formally recognized, with lecturers missing out on annual increments. “The courts directed the government to implement the deal, and on March 25, 2025, another ruling went in our favour. Yet since then, there has been complete silence,” Dr. Wekesa added.

He also raised concerns about staff healthcare at UoN, urging the institution’s management to take the matter seriously. Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) Nairobi branch secretary, Peter Waita, echoed the frustration, accusing the government of denying lecturers their rightful dues. At Moi University, UASU Acting Secretary General Dr. Dan Mukhwana maintained that the strike will only end once the government fulfils its obligations.

“Our four-year-old CBA has never been implemented. If that money isn’t paid, we are not going back to class. The next cycle began in July, yet no counteroffer has been given. We are left with no choice but to strike,” he said. Similar industrial action has already begun at Egerton University and Kisii University.