The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) have issued a warning of potential industrial action due to the government's failure to clear arrears from Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) spanning 2017 to 2025.

Speaking at a press briefing in Nairobi, UASU Secretary General Dr. Constantine Wasonga and KUSU Secretary General Dr. Charles Mukhwaya demanded immediate payment of all outstanding dues without staggered schedules, highlighting the financial strain on university staff and the absence of interest payments on delayed arrears.

Key Concerns Raised by the Unions

  • Non-payment of 2017–2021 and 2021–2025 CBA arrears in full
  • Delayed promotions and gratuity payments for academic staff
  • Unilateral salary adjustments by government human resource policies without union consultation
  • Delayed exchequer releases affecting university operations
  • Shift to funding universities through student fees instead of direct government payments
  • Increased reliance on part-time lecturers amid a shortage of full-time academic staff

Dr. Mukhwaya criticized the experimental university funding model, insisting that direct exchequer payments remain essential to safeguard educational standards. He stated, "You cannot use universities as a specimen for trial and error; this is not a laboratory, and Kenyan students' futures are at stake."

Dr. Wasonga also challenged claims that UASU was consulted on proposals to revise the retirement age of university staff, calling on the Public Service Commission to provide evidence of such discussions.

Highlighting staffing challenges, Dr. Wasonga noted that Kenya currently has approximately 9,000 lecturers serving over one million students, whereas the ideal number should exceed 35,000. This shortage has increased workload pressures on existing faculty.

Both unions cautioned that if the government does not settle the pending arrears and address other grievances, lecturers might not resume teaching when universities reopen in September. Dr. Wasonga remarked, "I had planned to call a strike in 2030, but it looks like we are being forced to consider one this September."

The unions further questioned the government's commitment to fully fund university students, urging that clearing the over Ksh 100 billion owed to universities should take precedence to stabilize the sector.