Court suspends lecturers’ strike

By Claris Charo

Parents and students got a reprieve on Wednesday afternoon, after the Employment and Labour relations court suspended lecturers and university workers’ strike.

The nationwide strike started on Wednesday morning, crippling learning activities in over 30 public universities across the country.  

While issuing the orders, Judge Justice Jacob Gakeri cited the matter as urgent, directing the parties to continue negotiating to resolve the disputed issues. The matter comes up for mention on October 2.

The strike was called by Universities' Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) leadership, demanding that the government address their grievances.

They include discriminative medical cover, implementation of the 2021/2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), annual salary increments, staff promotions, proper staff placement to appropriate notches and the improvement of poor working conditions.

At Maseno in Kisumu County, university dons assembled at the graduation square before officially commencing the strike.

According to Pius Steven Opiyo, UASU Maseno branch chairman, they will not go back to work unless their issues are acted upon.

“We have come out to remind the government that enough is enough,” he declared.

He added, “We have a CBA cycle that is ending in 2025 yet workers have not enjoyed even a penny.”

His sentiments were echoed by UASU Maseno Chapter Secretary, Dr. Steven Onyango, who maintained that they will only go back to work after the government fully addresses their grievances.