Court stops university workers' new job grading

A section of University Academic Staff Union, UASU and Kenya universities staff union, KUSU photo:courtesy

A court has stopped the implementation of the new university workers grading structure proposed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission until the unions are involved.

The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) got an order from the Employment Labour Relations Court stopping the implementation of the structures until a case it has filed is heard and determined.

"An order is hereby given against the respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, and/or agents or whomever is acting on their behalf, from implementing the final job evaluation report for academic staff in all public universities in Kenya without the inclusion of the petitioners' input pending the hearing and determination of this application," says the order dated August 1, 2017.

Uasu claimed that the commission (SRC) undertook a job evaluation for academic staff in all public universities without involving it, yet it is a key stakeholder.

The union says there is an existing collective bargaining agreement that would be adversely affected by SRC's job evaluation.

It claims that the evaluation report places junior administrative staff above academic staff, yet the core functions of universities is training and teaching, which are performed by them.

This comes a day after vice chancellors of public universities demanded an urgent meeting with SRC to discuss the job evaluation report.

In a letter dated July 25 to the SRC chief executive officer, Anne Gitau, they say: "We request an urgent meeting with a representative of the vice chancellors of public universities to discuss the ongoing job evaluation exercise and reports that have been forwarded to a number of institutions," Francis Aduol, the vice chancellors' committee chairman said.