KUSU warns of massive job losses over plot to hijack reform process

KUSU Secretary General Charles Mukhwaya. [File, Standard] The Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) has opposed alleged covert scheme by Vice Chancellors of public universities to unilaterally restructure the job grading system outside the established Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs). KUSU Secretary General Charles Mukhwaya warns that the move could lead to massive job losses among lecturers and other staff. Dr Mukhwaya accuses university administrators of hijacking the ongoing review of Human Resource Instruments (HRIs) initiated by the Public Service Commission (PSC), turning what was intended to be a transparent and progressive reform process into a vehicle for manipulation and exclusion. "The PSC's intention to align HR instruments in state corporations with its guidelines has been hijacked by Vice Chancellors under the guise of strengthening human resource management," said Dr Mukhwaya. "This process has been weaponised to restructure job grades and downgrade terms and conditions of service outside the CBA framework," he added. KUSU's declaration sets the stage for a protracted standoff unless university councils and the government step in to mediate. While acknowledging that aligning HRIs with best practices and legal frameworks is a commendable objective, KUSU insists that the process must involve structured consultations with unions. The union claims the process is opaque, unprocedural, and skewed to serve narrow interests. "The Vice Chancellors are brazenly engaged in a unilateral variation of employees' terms and conditions of service that had previously been mutually negotiated and registered in court," Dr Mukhwaya claims. "This includes downgrading negotiated job grades, creating lofty positions to benefit retiring VCs, and eroding staff protections enshrined in CBAs," he adds. KUSU cites downgrading of agreed employment terms, creation of new, non-negotiated job grades and scrapping of existing job grades for some staff. Others are violation of constitutional rights to fair pay and conditions, undermining of union negotiations and legal protections and blatant violation of ILO conventions and Kenyan labour laws. The union warns that if the move is not reversed, it will amount to breach of national and international labour standards, and an erosion of hard-fought workers' rights. "Any attempt to vary the terms and conditions of service for university staff through the backdoor will be rejected in totality," says Dr Mukhwaya. "KUSU will resist machinations that seek to disenfranchise and subject its members to unfair labour practices." KUSU wants the unilateral process halted and all changes to HR structures negotiated jointly with the union and other stakeholders before submission to the PSC. "We are not opposed to reforms. What we are demanding is due process, transparency, and respect for the rights of workers. We call on public universities to engage the union in structured negotiations so that any new HR instruments are a joint product, not an imposition," says Dr Mukhwaya. The matter adds to the growing tension between university administrations and staff unions, which have in recent years protested poor remuneration, underfunding of universities, and breach of CBAs. With the academic calendar already under pressure from funding challenges and policy shifts, another round of labour unrest could further destabilise Kenya's higher education sector.

KUSU warns of massive job losses over plot to hijack reform process

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KUSU warns of massive job losses over plot to hijack reform process

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