University staff up in arms over pay discrepancies

Maseno University teaching staff are up in arms over discrepancies in remunerations made to their accounts on Tuesday after the ministry of education released a total of Sh4.775 Billion to all public universities for the 2023-2017 CBA.

The lecturers have accused the University Academic Staff Union officials at the institution slashing up to Sh100, 000 from some of the senior lecturers’ expected arrears payment in conspiracy with the university administration.

A senior lecturer who spoke to the Standard on phone on condition of anonymity said the union had shortchanged them given that their colleagues in JOUST, MMUST and Chuka University were getting the amount in full as computed by the implementation committee.

At Maseno university the sum paid to their individual accounts is only 30 percent of the anticipated 47.7 percent pay from the bargaining agreement.

“We have not been paid what we have been awarded and the union officials are not giving us any reliable feedback. What we have now is less by 17.7 percent and we feel shortchanged since other university lectures in our cadre have received the awarded amount,” said the lecturer.

 Maseno university UASU trustee Dr Bowa Kwach has said the members had not made formally raised the complaints to the union.

He said only a few members who receive their pay through KCB had the money reflecting in their bank accounts and the others have wait longer as the bank releases money to the diffident others to make payments.

Mr Bowa said the was no cause for alarm as the deductions made were only between one to two percent in arrears as membership deduction to the union and another 10 percent as employee contribution to the pension scheme.

“The only deductions made in arrears were to the union membership deductions and for the pension scheme. The other universities probably did not make this inferences in their pay implementation and thus the inconsistencies,” said Dr Bowa.

KUDHEIHA, KUSU, UASU and the Joint Negotiations Committee held the 2017-2023 collective bargaining agreement negotiations that ended with an accepted stand that the union members would be paid the allotted government funds totaling to Sh10 Billion.

The government released 47.7 percent of the funds to all public universities a fortnight ago and members of the union were now receiving the money this week.

We are trying to reach the university administration for comments on the matter.