Lecturers want State to honour pay agreement

By Lonah Kibet and Mary Kamande

Lecture halls remained vacant for the third week running as striking university lecturers took to the streets to seek government’s attention.

Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu), University Non-Teaching Staff Union (Untesu) and Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels and Educational Institutions and Hospitals Association (Kudheiha) members are in a joint national industrial action to have their issues addressed.

Public university lecturers and associated workers have said intimidation and threats issued by the government and vice- chancellors would not work on them unless the State resumes the stalled 2010-2012 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations.

“The strike is out of university management hands. We want serious negotiations with the government and will not be tricked to have our workers go back to classes and nothing is done. Once bitten twice shy,” Untesu organising secretary Johnstone Akanga said.

The campus unions took control of Uhuru Highway, bringing traffic to a standstill for most of the morning.

They chanted; “Kamar must go! Githae must go!”. “Tumesoma tumesota, hawajasoma ni masonko (We are learned yet we are poor while the illiterate are rich).

The unions said the strike would go on for as long as the Government was not engaging them in talks.

They said the State was engaging primary and secondary schools in a structured manner while they had been left behind.

“Something is happening with the primary and secondary school unions and teachers while they have kept mum about us,” Akanga said.

They said they had given the government their proposals and have not received any counter proposals, warning there would be trouble until all their needs are met.

 Rejected proposal

Last week, dons rejected Cabinet’s proposal until meaningful talks were held, saying they could not take a Cabinet sub- committee that had no terms of reference or even a time frame and were employing delaying tactics.

As the strike enters its third week, the unions’ members are not backing out and have complete confidence in their leaders to negotiate the CBA which had been abandoned after the government failed to respond to their offers.

At the same time, universities workers who were on strike on Monday scuttled a planned graduation ceremony for civic leaders who had been undergoing training on devolution at a public university.

Teaching and non-teaching staff at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Jkuat) prevented the management from conducting the event at the institution’s graduation pavilion. This forced the management to seek an alternative venue at a Nairobi hotel.

The protestors are members of  Uasu and Untesu.