Job boycott to continue, vow dons

Striking lectures have vowed not to bow to threats from managers of their respective universities who have asked them to resume duty.

In a circular, Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) secretary-general Constantine Wasonga told lectures to ignore memos from their institutions, requiring them to report for work.

“At the end of the strike, Uasu will craft a watertight return-to-work formula that will shield all dons from victimisation,” said Dr Wasonga.

He asked the lectures not to perform any official duty, including teaching, marking, invigilating examinations, supervision, offering clinical services and conducting research.

UNDERESTIMATE

“The universities and the government underestimate the frustrations and economic injustice experienced by the dons. They forget the unity of purpose and solidarity of Uasu members. We are standing strong because we fight for the dignity and integrity of the dons,” he said.

Uasu asked the lectures to, instead, get directions from chapter officials every morning and attend union meetings only.

The lectures have also been asked to assist with monitoring of the public universities to ensure total paralysis of operations.

“Let dons continue being a great example of harmonious comradeship to our fellow beloved citizens,” said Dr Wasonga.

The union accused some university managers of using malicious political propaganda in efforts to get lecturers back to work.

BEGGING

He said the management’s intention is to “bring academicians to their knees, so that we may start begging, and take the illegal and grossly unjust current pay”.

At the same time, students at public universities have supported the lectures and asked the government to urgently meet the staff’s demands. They said their studies were at risk.

Student leaders from across the 33 public universities have threatened to stage demonstrations in Nairobi if the lectures’ demands are not met by Monday.

Moi University’s Nairobi campus chairman Edwin Kegoli yesterday told a press conference that the government should consider the lectures’ grievances and address them before the strike causes more harm to learning at the institutions.

“There are students who took academic leave at their workplaces. The disruption of the academic calendar will jeopardise their efforts to meet the academic leave timelines,” said Mr Kegoli.

The students are worried because the 2016-2017 academic calendar was also disrupted earlier in the year owing to strikes by staff.

“The 2017-2018 academic year is at stake with the ongoing lecturers’ strike,” he said.

The students outlined daily demonstrations from Wednesday as they demand that lectures be paid their dues.