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Learning in public universities is set to be paralysed as the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) threatened to issue a seven-day strike notice.
This, the union said follows the failure of the Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) and Salary and Remuneration Commission SRC to negotiate and implement the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
National Secretary General Constantine Wasonga on Wednesday said the 30,000 university employees shall withdraw their labour from September 18, 2024, over the failure of universities to factor in salary increases since 2021.
He said Public Service employees have enjoyed their staff salaries and improved allowances since 2021 but the government has engaged in selective justice by deciding to award a section of workers and neglecting others.
Previously while speaking at Masinde Muliro University Science and Technology (MMUST) during the annual education day for MMUST, Wasonga said the IPUCCF and government have taken dons in the circles despite submitting their proposal for the negotiation and implementation of the CBA since 2020.
“We submitted our proposal to the IPUCCF in September 2020 and to date, IPUCCF and the government have been taking us in circles,” said Wasonga.
“I convened a National Executive Council meeting that gave me the authority to issue a strike notice and our strike notice will be served to the respective government authorities and the national strike is going to officially commence on 18th September 2024.”
Wasonga said the UASU decision was informed by the fact that the IPUCCF and SRC are colluding to frustrate any efforts by the dons to have a CBA.
“We realize that IPUCCF and SRC are colluding not to allow us to have a CBA. The SRC introduced a factor that has never been used in any CBA negotiations since the inception of the union known as percentile and the commission is claiming to have done a survey when we asked where they did the survey who was involved and the parameters used, they are unable to answer,” said Wasonga.
On the new university funding model, Wasonga said the UASU is not in agreement with the new funding model.
“From the word go we gave our stand. We do not know where this funding model came from and who came up with it because you cannot determine the future of a student based on the background of the parent,” said Wasonga.
Wasonga put some public universities on notice for not signing a CBA with their staff while commending Masinde Muliro University for having signed a CBA with its members last week.
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