Learning activities in public universities have been paralysed following a nationwide strike called by the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions and Hospitals Allied (KUDHEIHA) workers.

The strike was to commence at midnight after talks between the unions and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) failed to come to an agreement on Thursday, October 1.

During the crunch talks, lecturers said no to the annual salary increment of 4 per cent proposed by IPUCCF, terming it as mediocore and insisted on the implementation of the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Some of the grievances the lecturers had include: the pension crisis that has plagued the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), where deductions were made for years without being remitted to the workers’ pension scheme.

The staff are also lamenting that of frozen promotions, arguing that they are not progressive career-wise with some of them being stuck in the same rank for years despite having all the neccesary documents for promotion.

The university workers also argue that there has been unequal distribution of allowances, calling for standardisation so that all lecturers can receive the same allowances.

More to follow…