Kenya’s Public University Workers Paralyse Learning As Nationwide Strike Kicks Off
Just a day after frantic talks between university presidents and relevant stakeholders to avert a looming strike failed, lecturers from various universities have laid down their tools.
Lecturers made good on their threat after their respective unions, the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), called for a strike over unmet demands from the national government.
Dons from various universities took to the streets as the strike officially began.
This comes just a week after students protesting the new higher education funding model ended their strike following government intervention.
Lecturers from The Technical University of Kenya (TUK), Karatina University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU), Multimedia University, Maasai Mara University, Chuka University, and Cooperative University are all on strike.
University staff protests have officially kicked off, with South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) witnessing its first-ever staff strike as part of a national work boycott organized by the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (Kusu).… pic.twitter.com/6n7xkyw1F4
— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) September 18, 2024
The net effect of the lecturers’ strike was that students writing exams at some universities were forced to stop when lecturers invigilating the exams joined their striking colleagues.
Lecturers on strike stormed various faculties at Karatina University, demanding that their colleagues who were teaching stop and join the strike.
On September 11, university dons, led by UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga, declared a strike.
Two days after the notice was issued, the lecturers attended a meeting with Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, which failed to produce any significant results.
The lecturers could not reach an agreement with the Education Ministry, which wants them to continue working under the same conditions.
Crisis in universities as University Academic Staff Union (UASU) members, lecturers begin their nationwide strike pic.twitter.com/QdW01B9u7Q
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 18, 2024
“It’s not feasible to continue earning the same in an environment where everything has gone up and our purchasing power eroded,” Charles Mukhwaya KUSU Secretary-General stated.
Mukhwaya stated this following a meeting on the strike with PS for Higher Education on Wednesday.
UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga, for his part, stated that his union’s members could no longer operate on promises and would only accept a tangible solution before calling off the strike.
“We don’t eat promises and promissory notes. We don’t care if it takes years. If they come with promises, we’ll reject them. We want something tangible,” he said after the meeting on Wednesday.
UASU and KUSU are urging the government to address several issues, including discriminatory medical coverage and the conclusion of a local Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
They also want annual salary increases, staff promotions, proper staff placement at appropriate levels, and an improvement in poor working conditions.
The university dons’ strike will halt academic progress at 35 public universities.
Kenya’s Public University Workers Paralyse Learning As Nationwide Strike Kicks Off
