Court declares lecturers’ strike illegal, Education CS set to meet union officials

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has declared the nationwide lecturers’ strike illegal.

The court has ordered all parties to return to the negotiation and expedite negotiations.

“The strike called by the Respondent (UASU) on 29th October 2024 is hereby declared unprotected. The Respondent and/or its officials are restrained from calling on its members or inciting them to participate in the unprotected strike set to commence on 29th October 2024, or on any other dates, regarding matters that are the subject of negotiations,” ruled Lady Justice Agnes Nzei.

The respondents have 14 days to file and serve a response to the notice of motion dated October 24, 2024, with a mention set for November 28.

Discrepancies

This decision provides a reprieve for students in public universities after lecturers downed their tools, citing the government’s failure to honour a return-to-work deal.

The University Academic Staff Union (UASU) announced that the strike would continue until the government meets their demands as stipulated in the 2012-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

On Tuesday, UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga urged the government to uphold the negotiated return-to-work formula, which included several benefits aimed at improving their welfare.

Last month, public university lecturers and staff called off their nationwide go-slow after reaching a return-to-work agreement with the government that would provide salary increments ranging from 7% to 10%, facilitated through the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

During a Senate appearance this morning, Education CS Julius Ogamba stated that implementation had been delayed due to discrepancies between the figures provided by the union and the government.

He assured that they would work to resolve the issue in a meeting with the unions scheduled for Wednesday afternoon from 1 pm.

“The challenge between us (government) and UASU regarding the return-to-work formula is that we agreed on a 7% and 10% increment, but the figures differ by about Kshs 5 billion. It’s simply a matter of reconciling the numbers and finding some middle ground,” the CS said.