Hope at troubled Moi University after staff, State sign Sh8.6b salary deal

Moi University Vice Chancellor Professor Isaac Kosgei, UASU National Secretary General Constantine Wesonga, PS Education Beatrice Inyangala, her boss CS Dr Julius Ogamba, Moi University Board Chairman Humphrey Njuguna and KUSU Acting Secretary General James Magoka after signing the return to work agreement at the Moi University main Campus in Eldoret Uasin Gishu County yesterday. November 30, 2024. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

There is hope for the struggling Moi University after workers signed a return-to-work formula in a deal that sees the immediate payment of October salaries at collective bargaining agreement rates.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba on Saturday said that staff, who have been on strike for two months, will resume their duties tomorrow.

Under the deal, the government will release Sh8.6 billion for salaries, to be paid in phases between the 2024/25 and 2027/28 financial years.

To ease financial pressure, the university has been allowed to sell assets to pay off its debts.

“You will see the changes that are coming,” Ogamba said after signing the agreement.

Also included in the agreement, Sh500 million has been allocated for staff financial requirements, including paying bank loans, union dues, pensions, and welfare services.

Outstanding gratuity arrears will be paid on an ongoing basis, and the university will resume deductions and remittances for union dues, pensions, loans, and other third-party payments.

Members of the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu), Kenya Universities Staff Union and Kenya Union of Domestic Hotels, Education Institutions and Hospital Workers agreed to return to work tomorrow.

Uasu Secretary General Constantine Wasonga said the strike had helped address a number of their demands.

“I urge my colleagues to return to work on Monday and work to recover the lost time. We have gotten something small. Even the tail of a cow is still meat,” he said.

The university has agreed to negotiate with financial institutions for grace periods on outstanding loans and phased repayments.

Annual promotions, based on criteria and policy, will be carried out, and Uasu would be involved in policy formulation.

According to Ogamba, the institution was on the verge of collapse due to poor leadership and external interference.

Anxiety had gripped the institution’s community after workers declined to return to work, even though their counterparts in other universities had resumed work weeks ago.

“We have worked with all leaders from the region, and all their hands are on deck to ensure that Moi University is back on track,” Ogamba said.

The CS added that several other public universities were facing financial challenges.

He promised that the government was determined to ensure that all other institutions facing governance and financial problems would be brought back to normalcy.

“We are seeking the support of parents and students to support the measures that will restore normalcy at Moi University and other institutions of higher learning,” he added.

He also said that collective bargaining agreements should be negotiated at the end of their cycles so that they can be budgeted for.

He pledged to meet Moi University students who have spent as long as nine years completing six-year courses.

Moi University Vice Chancellor Prof Isaac Kosgey thanked the National Treasury for working with the Ministry of Education to support interventions aimed at reviving the university.

“I appreciate the unions for highlighting the challenges affecting the university. We will do our best to recover the time lost,” he said.