Lecturers threaten to strike over unpaid dues

By Rawlings Otieno

NAIROBI,KENYA: Two Universities Unions have threatened to boycott duty if the Collective Bargain Agreement (CBA) signed last year is not honoured and the money released by the government is not accounted for by the
Universities Chief Executives.

The University Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Universities Non-Teaching Staff Union (UNTESU) jointly stated that they would go on strike on the expiry of the seven days starting Monday, if the
Universities Chief Executives cannot pay them the money according to the tentacles of the CBA.

If they make good their threat, learning in public universities could be paralysed next week and the Unions now wants President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to constitute a team to investigate how money released for the harmonization of the salaries of the teaching and Non-teaching staff has so far been utilized.

Led by Uasu Secretary General Muga K’Olale, the unions accused the Vice Chancellors of colluding to defraud the staff money that had been released by the government during their two weeks strike last year in September and threatened to boycott duty and institute legal suit.

“We have notified the Chief executives in all public universities that failure to honour the CBA signed and the all the coin released, then we shall cut off our services,” said the tough talking K’Olale.

The two unions issued the strike notice in a statement read by Uasu Secretary General Kolale at their headquarters in Nairobi on Monday.

They want the Vice Chancellors to honour the 2010-2013 CBA as agreed upon and signed last year in September between the unions and the Inter-Public University Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE).

They claimed that the government had renegade on paying up the money to the last coin and accused the Vice Chancellors and principals of various Constituent Colleges of implementing a CBA agreement that is illegal.

“We have in our possession a document the Vice Chancellors and Principals using to implement the CBA, but this document is not valid and it is not even signed. The Universities have unilaterally varied
the agreement by drafting an illegal document,” said K’Olale.

The Unions said that they had received 17.42 percent increment instead of the 33.1 percent agreed on last September.

The Sh7.8 billion was to be paid in two phases where Sh3.9 billion was paid by December 5, last year after the two unions settled for a 33.1 per cent increase of their basic salary and 14.27 percent
increase on their house allowance.

The money was to be paid in two phases dating back to July 1, 2010 and will run until July 1, 2013.

"We were offered a 33.1 percent of the basic salary and a 14.2 percent of house allowance as we had as agreed but instead university officials have declined to honour the government deal," said K'Olale.

They claimed that three Universities Multimedia, Chepkoilel and Narok Universities colleges had been given money even ahead of their Universities more money that they had indicated in their submissions for the award of the salary increment.

The unions also accused the Vice Chancellor of Egerton University Prof. Tuitoek of suggesting that the some money be put in a fixed account and be used later to recruit new staff.

“We don’t want the Chief Executives to act like demigods. They should release all the money to the staff that was released by the government last year,” added K’Olale.