Why lecturers' strike may be nearing an end

The ongoing lecturers strike could be called off next week if the government agrees to pay staff the full amount that will be agreed upon after a current audit.

The Saturday Standard established that a joint committee to verify the outstanding pay arrears was formed on Thursday during the Machakos meeting.

The committee, comprising representatives from the university staff unions, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, and public universities, has set Monday, October 13, as the deadline to complete the audit.

Sources in the meeting revealed that, upon conclusion, the government will be required to remit all the monies and the strike would be called off immediately.

“We will work through the weekend and expect to have good news on Monday on the agreed figures,” said an official involved in the process.

However, union sources said the lecturers will not resume work until the government releases the agreed funds.

“The only way lecturers are going back to work is when the money hits their accounts. Even after agreeing on the figures, the strike will continue until payment is made,” a source in the meeting said.

The demand signals that the dispute may persist beyond the audit, as parties differ on the sequence of agreement and payment.

Sources within both the Kenya Universities Staff Union(KUSU) and the University and Academic Staff Union(UASU) indicated that they are willing to enter into a payment plan once they agree on the figures owed.

“Once the figures have been agreed on, we will be willing to get a portion of what the government will offer and then make a payment plan on how the remaining amount will be met, depending on how much the debt will be,” said another source.

The strike, now in its fourth week, has disrupted teaching and learning across 41 public universities, affecting over 500,000 students.

Some student association groups have issued statements threatening to join the protest if no concrete progress is made to end the stalemate.

On October 6, the Employment and Labour Relations Court directed the parties to file progress reports by October 15, but sources said little headway was made as the government stuck to its demand for a verification exercise before releasing any funds.

“The judgment of January 2021 settled this matter. The total cost was Sh16.5 billion, and Sh7.9 billion remains unpaid. The audit they are proposing is unlawful and will only deepen the crisis,” a union official who attended the meeting said.

The dispute runs back to 2021 when the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the CBA covering 2017–2021 would cost Sh16.5 billion. 

The Ministry of Education, the SRC, and university councils challenged the figure, arguing the cost should remain at Sh8.8 billion. They, however, failed to pursue their appeal after securing interim stay orders.

The Court of Appeal later ruled, in March 2025, that the government’s appeal had effectively collapsed after it failed to file a record of appeal within the stipulated time frame. 

Consequently, the Attorney General advised the Ministry of Education to comply with the original judgment and facilitate payment of the outstanding amount.

“The court of appeal said that since the record of appeal was never filed, the stay orders lapsed. The Attorney General has already written to the Ministry directing them to pay,” the source disclosed.

Despite this, government representatives in the meeting reportedly maintained that an audit must be conducted before any payments are made.

“We are here expecting that the parties will adopt the court judgment and agree to pay the Sh7.9 billion. Anything short of that will only worsen the situation in universities,” the source said.

The meeting is part of efforts to end a crippling lecturers’ strike now in its fourth week, which has paralysed learning and research activities across 41 public universities.