No end to varsity, lecturers battles over workload

Maseno University is embroiled in a legal tussle with lecturers over allegations of imposing a huge workload on them without consultations.

A week after an industrial court invalidated the decision by the university to increase working hours from 40 to 52.2, the institution has now moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to challenge the ruling.

The institution has filed its intent to appeal the judgement by Justice Stephen Radido and plans to challenge the court's findings.

Justice Radido had also ordered the institution to consult with the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) to resolve the issue and incorporate the decision in their Collective Bargain Agreement.

The union had sued the university for violating the working hours for the lecturers and had accused the institution of failing to involve them in the changes.

In its petition, the union held that the university failed to involve it nor consult with the Commission for Universities Education or any education stakeholder in the plans to increase the lecturers' workload.

The union had told the court that the institution's action was in breach of the constitutional rights of the lecturers.

In its response, however, the university asked the court to dismiss the suit and denied that the working hours had been increased.

The university contended that its Senate was responsible for the content and academic standards, arguing that the Senate was composed of staff, including the union's members.

According to court documents, the university had filed minutes of meetings held by the Senate to approve the teaching loads.

The institution claimed that the chairperson of the local chapter of UASU sent apologies for one meeting and attended the other, as they held that he was aware of the agenda for the meetings.