Why university staff have rejected phased pay deal in Sh7.9b salary dispute

A fresh stalemate has hit public universities as the government and unions failed to agree on a payment plan for the Sh7.9 billion salary arrears. 

The amount is owed to both teaching and non-teaching staff under the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA).

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the government had fully honored all payments due under the 2021-2025 CBA.

He, however, noted that unions’ industrial action was based on the implementation of the 2017-2021 CBA, the payment of the second tranche of arrears for the 2021-2025 CBA, and the commencing of the negotiations for the 2025-2029 CBA.

Ogamba said that under the 2021–2025 CBA, the government has honoured all payments due.

Out of the total Sh9.76 billion, he said, the first tranche of Sh4.3 billion and the second tranche of Sh2.73 billion have already been released. The remaining Sh2.73 billion will be paid in the next financial year as scheduled under the agreement.

However, regarding the contentious 2017–2021 CBA, Ogamba said that after verification, the amount owed to staff was established to be Sh7.76 billion.

He added that the government had initially proposed to settle the verified balance in three phases — Sh2.1 billion in the first phase and Sh2.8 billion in each of the last two phases. But Ogamba said the unions had demanded a one-off payment and rejected the government’s offer.

He explained that the government later revised its proposal to settle the arrears in two phases, a concession made on Friday, but the unions still rejected it.

“We, therefore, appeal to university staff’s sense of patriotism and duty of care to our students to resume work in their respective universities and allow room for constructive negotiations toward a mutually acceptable and sustainable solution,” Ogamba said.

The unions confirmed receiving the revised government offer to pay the arrears in two tranches, down from the earlier three-phase plan.

However, the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) rejected the proposal.

“The figure of Sh7.9 billion is not negotiable. Our members have been owed this money for eight years. Paying in tranches would drag the debt to 2028 which would be more than a decade of waiting,” said KUSU Secretary-General Charles Mukhwaya.

The CS said the ministry had proposed to pay the first installment immediately, in November and the second in the next financial year.

“The leadership of the university staff unions has, unfortunately, rejected the government’s offer. This position is regrettable, given that most of the unions’ concerns have been fully addressed and a clear roadmap for resolving the remaining issues has been presented, with evident goodwill and compromise on the part of the government,” said Ogamba.

He added that since the onset of industrial action by university staff unions in September, the government has shown commitment to resolving all concerns raised by the unions expeditiously and meaningfully.

One-off payment

However, on Friday, UASU rejected the ministry’s proposal and demanded a one-off payment of the full amount, insisting the government should release the funds immediately.

In a joint press conference with KUSU, the university staff further demanded that the 2025–2029 CBA be negotiated, signed, registered and fully implemented before they consider calling off the strike.

However, UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga dismissed the proposal, saying, “No one should contemplate or imagine that decade-long arrears can be paid in phases. Lecturers don’t disseminate knowledge in phases and bills don’t wait to be settled in phases either.”

“The government has made a habit of issuing promissory notes but failing to honour them. Members are no longer comfortable with any further promises,” said Mukhwaya.

The standoff, now in its 46th day, has crippled learning in public universities across the country, leaving thousands of students stranded as lecturers and non-teaching staff demand payment of arrears dating back to 2017.

Reports by Lewis Nyaundi, Jacinta Mutura, Juliet Omelo and Phillip Muasya