Lecturers call for salary talks
University lecturers have written to the government demanding that talks over their proposed salary increase begin on Tuesday.
The dons have written to Labour minister John Munyes, and their negotiating counterparts— Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum— requesting for their first meeting since they returned to work.
Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) chairman Sammy Kubasu on Sunday said that they had proposed that the talks be held at Mr Munye’s boardroom at the National Social Security Fund building, Nairobi.
“Since the minister brokered the deal to call off the strike, it is expected that he will bring both the unions and the government to the negotiating table during the first meeting,” Prof Kubasu said.
The dons and universities’ non-teaching staff called off a week-long strike on November 17 following talks where it was agreed that negotiations would start not later than December 1.
Higher Education assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria said Treasury had set aside money for a counter-proposal of what the lecturers were demanding on the same day the dons ended their strike.
But he noted that the government expected respective universities management to supplement funds that would be given by the Exchequer.
It is not yet clear the amount the government has set aside to implement the demands of the lecturers who are fighting for the harmonisation of their salaries across the seven public universities.
Uasu is seeking implementation of a new structure that will double the basic pay of lecturers and improve their allowances.
It proposes to raise the pay of a professor to a maximum of Sh400,000, up from the current 165,000 a month, and a new house allowance of Sh95,000 up from Sh64,000.
If the union’s demands are granted by the government, an associate professor’s salary would rise to Sh298,000 from Sh135,000; a senior lecturer would earn Sh221,000; a lecturer, Sh165,000; while an assistant lecturer would earn Sh121,000.
