Long wait: No salaries hike yet for 30,000 workers

University workers have to wait another month for their disputed salary increase.

This is after the labour court ordered the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to demonstrate how they arrived at Sh8.8 billion award, with the matter coming up in court again on February 27.

The figure has been a major bone of contention, with unions insisting that the correct sum to implement the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is Sh13.8 billion.

Universities that initially supported the unions' calculations backtracked and supported the figure fronted by SRC.

In a letter dated January 16 to all the vice-chancellors, the chairman of vice-chancellors committee Geoffrey Muluvi, communicated the official position of universities on the correct figure.

“I wish to inform you that vice-chancellors of public universities and principals of constituent colleges met on January 15, 2020 at the University of Nairobi and approved the distribution of Sh8.8 billion being the total amount to fully implement the 2017-2021 CBA inclusive of pensions and associated taxes,” said Prof Muluvi.

In the letter, the vice chancellors said they resolved that the CBA be implemented in compliance with advisory communicated to them by the SRC.

Justice Maureen Onyango now wants the SRC to file in court its calculations, detailing staff in posts, complete with salary notches per category of staff.

She also instructed SRC to serve all the parties all the documents containing the calculations and clarification relating to how the figure of Sh8.8 billion was arrived at.

Uasu Secretary General Constantine Wasonga, however, said the new calculations adopted by vice chancellors would deny workers an annual increment further threatening to open fresh controversy over the payment fiasco.

In the 2017-2021 CBA, workers were offered a cumulative salary award of between 23.14 per cent for high earners and 25.07 per cent for the least-paid staff.

This translates to an annual increment of between 5.75 per cent and 6.27 per cent.

Under the negotiated salary deal, workers were to benefit from an annual increment of about four per cent, adding up to 16 per cent for the entire four-year CBA life.

Wasonga said the horizontal implementation of the master scales would chop off some Sh3 billion from the salary money to benefit universities.

Steal money

“They have opted to ignore the diagonal implementation of the master scale which has been the practice every year because it factors in the annual salary increment of workers. Ignoring that means they have decided to steal our money to benefit them,” said Wasonga, adding that workers are ready to wait.

Meanwhile, some of the universities have already communicated to their staff why they may not effect the new salaries. But even as they wait for the new pay details, some of the universities are yet to pay January salaries. Kenyatta University, for instance, cites delay in receiving capitation.

Overall, each of the 30,000 staff is expected to get enhanced salary rise backdated to 2017. Professors were to take an annual increment of about Sh8, 547 and Sh9, 753 for higher and lower limits, respectively.

Professors who earn a minimum salary of Sh170, 681 per month will have their pay increased to Sh180, 434 in the first year of implementation and Sh190, 187 in the second year.

Their salaries will further go up to Sh199, 940 and Sh209, 693 for the third and fourth years, respectively. Salaries of associate professors will be revised by some Sh11, 766 for the lower band and Sh8, 724 for upper limits.

This means associate professors who presently earn a minimum pay of Sh112, 038 will take home Sh120, 141 and Sh128, 244 in first and second years of implementation.

Their pay will further rise to Sh136, 347 and Sh144, 450 in the third and fourth years. Senior lecturers who presently earn a minimum of Sh112, 038 will have their salaries increased to Sh120, 141, Sh128, 244, Sh136, 347 and Sh144, 450 for the next four years, respectively.

This translates to an annual increase of between Sh11, 766 for lower bands and Sh8, 103 for higher bands. Lecturers will get a pay rise of between Sh2, 795 and Sh4, 919.

Assistant lecturers/tutorial fellows will have their pay go up by between Sh3, 561 and Sh5, 392. Graduate assistants’ pay will also be increased annually by between Sh2, 687 and Sh3, 893.