UoN senate resolves to discipline striking staff

More than 500 lecturers at the University of Nairobi may not get their March pay.

The university management seeks to punish employees for defying a court order to end their month-long strike.

Other public institutions of higher learning are likely to emulate the University of Nairobi in withholding salaries for the 27,000 striking staff, among them 9,000 lecturers.

The university’ senate, the organ in charge of academic programmes, resolved on Thursday to withhold salaries for dons who have not been teaching.

CONCERN

University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor Peter Mbithi ordered an audit of departments to identify lecturers who have not been going to class.

Deans were given up to 5pm on Friday to submit the information to Prof Mbithi's office.

The Nation has learnt that most lecturers likely to miss the pay are from the faculty of engineering at Chiromo and Kikuyu campuses.

Teaching was going on at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, which accounts for nearly half the student population.

During the senate meeting, members expressed concern that while teaching was going on in other institutions, the University of Nairobi had been turned into the epicentre of the strike.

APPEAL

Two weeks ago, the court ordered that the strike be called off but the Universities Academic Staff Union appealed the decision and asked its members to stay away from work until the collective bargaining agreement was negotiated.

The senate also resolved to take disciplinary action against staff who were disrupting teaching.

Vice-Chancellors Committee chairman Francis Aduol and Inter-Public Universities Council’s Consultative Forum chairman Paul Kanyari said those on strike would not get paid.

“We cannot pay people who are not working,” Prof Kanyari said.

INTIMIDATION

However, Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga dismissed the threat, insisting that the union would not call off the strike.

“We are used to such intimidation. They (universities) will pay the money as it will be part of the return-to-work formula,” Dr Wasonga said.

The Labour Court recently ordered lecturers to return to work and asked the government and the unions to address the pay dispute in 60 days.

The court ordered lecturers to return to work and the government to give a counter offer in 30 days.

Dr Wasonga faulted the court for failing to specify if its orders were for conciliation or for negotiations.

MALICE

He said some universities had hatched malicious plans in an attempt to undermine lecturers' struggles.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich insists that a counter-offer would only come once job evaluation has been done.

Mr  Rotich told the National Assembly’s Education committee last week that a case by lecturers, which sought to stop the Salaries and Remuneration Commission from concluding the job evaluation had made it hard for the government to determine what to give dons.

The lecturers, who resumed the strike on March 1 over low pay, have insisted on a counter offer before resuming talks.

NEGOTIATIONS

About Sh6.8 billion had been proposed by universities but Education CS Amina Mohamed said a staff audit must first be done.

The minister said only 15 out 31 universities had complied with payroll data audit.

She asked lecturers to call off the strike and give talks a chance.