Broke varsities revert to earlier salary scales

Universities Academic Staff Union Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga.

Broke universities are reverting to old salary scales after it emerged that arrears totaling Sh2.2 billion that were negotiated by unions were not remitted.

The money is part of the Sh8.8 billion collective bargaining agreement of 2017-2021 signed between unions and universities’ management in October last year.

The Saturday Standard has established that after an initial Sh6.6 billion was released to universities, most vice chancellors failed to adjust their workers’ salaries on grounds that the money was not enough to implement new salary scales.

Those institutions that complied with a June 3 court order and adjusted staff pay upwards are in trouble after they ran out of money.

Universities Academic Staff Union Secretary General Constantine Wasonga said the only institutions that have implemented the new salary scales include the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kabianga University, University of Nairobi, Machakos University, South Eastern Kenya University and Garissa University. But communication from TUM indicates that the university cannot sustain the new payroll, citing lack of funds.

“The university shall revert to the old salary scales. This will attract payment of arrears once the university receives the increased capitation,” reads an internal memo by Vice Chancellor Laila Abubakar.

Allowances frozen

Abubakar further announced a freeze on payment of commuter, car, entertainment and extraneous allowances to all staff regardless of whether they fall under essential services or not.

In the memo dated August 18, the VC says the university has already communicated the reduction in salaries to all banks and saccos.

“Staff can access the letters from university website staff downloads. Kindly take this opportunity to visit the financial institutions on restructuring of your deductions to enable us effect the same on the August 2020 payroll,” read the memo.

Wasonga said yesterday many other universities that had implemented the new salary scales have informed their staff that they will be paid using the old rates.

“This is not only illegal but also punishable. Once you have paid staff new salaries, you cannot take it back,” said Wasonga.

He said universities that did not effect the new salaries also disobeyed the court order that directed them to make the payments.

“But we are also asking the ministry to show us the Sh2.2 billion that they said will cater for these new adjustments. In court, they said the money will be available but VCs are saying the money is not there.”

Vice chancellors who spoke to Saturday Standard pointed fingers at the Ministry of Education for short-changing the universities.

“They deducted monies from the annual capitation to universities to cover the Sh2.2 billion balance that was needed and sent universities the remaining money as capitation,” said a VC familiar with finer details of the deal.

Wasonga said they had moved to court “and the matter will now be settled there”.

Last week, we reported universities that paid the new salaries used different formulas that revealed glaring disparities.

For instance, at Egerton University, assistant lecturers under notch 12 were paid Sh388,200 in salary arrears compared to Sh194,100 paid to staff in the same category at the University of Nairobi.

Staff at Tom Mboya University who fall in the same category were paid Sh135,870 as Maasai Mara workers got Sh303,907.