UASU Strike Looms as Education CS Ogamba Misses Key Union Talks

UASU Strike Looms as Education CS Ogamba Misses Key Union Talks.

A crucial meeting between the Ministry of Education and university staff unions, scheduled for yesterday, was unexpectedly canceled, posing a potential threat to continued learning in public universities.

The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) had planned to meet with the ministry at Jogoo House following an earlier stalemate in negotiations.

However, by the end of the day, UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga confirmed they had yet to receive an official invitation for the discussion.

Wasonga reported that the union informed the Ministry of Education on Thursday that their previous efforts to negotiate with the inter-ministerial committee had failed.

“We met the inter-ministerial committee and disagreed on the implementation of the return-to-work formula signed on September 26, 2024.”

The meeting, intended to be led by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, was expected to address ongoing disputes.

However, Ogamba refrained from addressing the lecturers’ concerns during a graduation ceremony at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), instead encouraging universities to prepare for Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) integration.

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Ogamba praised CUEA’s efforts in curriculum development, highlighting the importance of CBC readiness. He advised universities to expedite curriculum reviews to ensure alignment with CBC requirements for the upcoming cohort in 2029.

Escalation Toward a Second Strike

Amid the lack of communication from the government, UASU announced preparations for a second strike within two months.

Following the previous strike, which concluded on September 26, UASU issued a fresh seven-day strike notice on Tuesday due to the breakdown of negotiations concerning the return-to-work agreement.

Wasonga, in a letter to the councils of 35 public universities and three constituent colleges, informed that the strike would commence on October 22, 2024.

The notice pointed to the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) for its failure to conclude collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) for the periods 2013-2017, 2017-2021, and 2021-2025.

The union argued that the government’s proposal of Sh4.3 billion as a two-year solution was insufficient and lacked inclusion in the technical committee’s plan.

Union Demands and Pending Issues

The National Executive Committee meeting of UASU underscored unresolved concerns around salaries and working conditions, which they believe are yet to be adequately addressed.

University staff unions, including UASU and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), issued a one-week ultimatum that expired on October 22, 2024, demanding an increase in salaries and improvement in working conditions.

Failure to address these demands would prompt a nationwide strike, they warned.

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In response to the unmet demands, Wasonga formalized the seven-day strike notice, marking a critical juncture in the ongoing dispute between university staff unions and the Ministry of Education.

This sequence of events reflects ongoing tensions as university staff unions await a resolution on issues of salary adjustments and the implementation of collective bargaining agreements.

UASU Strike Looms as Education CS Ogamba Misses Key Union Talks.

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