Over 600,000 miss lessons as varsity strike enters third week

Universities Academic Staff Union Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga, and other union leaders, addresses journalists at the College of Health Sciences, Nairobi, on March 1, 2018, regarding the lecturers' strike. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The negotiations for the 2017-2021 CBA were to start running from December 18 last year and be concluded by end of February.
  • Dr Wasonga said it is unfortunate that lecturers continue to suffer yet the universities are reluctant to defend them.

Over 600,000 students in public universities may continue to miss lessons as lecturers line up several activities to strengthen their strike, which enters its third week on Monday.

The lecturers’ union, the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) has directed lecturers to harden their stand ahead of their planned country wide demonstrations from Wednesday.

Uasu Secretary General Constantine Wasonga has asked the dons to ignore calls from university managers to resume duty, saying that they should only take directions from the union.

“Ignore meetings, memos, threats and all communication from the management and take directions from the union only. At the end of the strike, Uasu will craft a water-tight Return to Work Formula that will shield all dons from victimisation,” he said.

SALARIES
The lecturers went on strike protesting failure by the Inter-Public Universities Councils’ Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) to table a counter-proposal.

The lecturers argue that despite attending several meetings, the government has been asking them to give them more time to enable officers from the Ministry of Education, IPUCCF and the National Treasury to finalise consultations and table a counter-offer.

They said the government had made promises in May 31 and July 1 last year, and on January 31 and February 13 this year to table their offer, only to refuse to honour their pledges.

TALKS

The negotiations for the 2017-2021 CBA were to start running from December 18 last year and be concluded by end of February.

Dr Wasonga said it is unfortunate that lecturers continue to suffer yet the universities are reluctant to defend them.

He condemned university managers inciting students to oppose the ongoing strike.

“The universities councils should borrow a leaf from the ongoing lecturers’ strike in the UK where the institutions have encouraged students to march together with their lecturers.

Dr Wasonga said, apart from the general strike at all the public universities the battle for the dignity of dons was unfolding in the courts, Senate and in the National Assembly.