Why lecturers have rejected pay offer

Lecturers led by UASU secretary general Constantine Wasonga march to the Treasury building, in Nairobi, on September 24, 2025. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard].

Public universities remain in turmoil as the standoff between lecturers and the government over the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) drags on, crippling academic operations and leaving thousands of students stranded.

The lecturers’ umbrella union has rejected an offer made last week by the Inter-Public Universities Councils’ Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), which was aimed at resolving the strike.

In a letter dated October 13, 2025, addressed to Prof Fred Simiyu, Chair of the IPUCCF Joint Negotiations Committee, the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) rejected in totality the counter-offer presented by IPUCCF through the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE).

Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga cited multiple violations of previous agreements and accused the IPUCCF and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) of disregarding constitutional and policy provisions that guarantee fair and competitive remuneration for academic staff.

“We hereby forward our response to the counter-offer presented to us on October 10, 2025. Unfortunately, the Union notes with concern that the agreement has not been honoured at all; instead, only a few terms and conditions of service have been selected for negotiation,” said Dr Wasonga.

He added: “It is worth noting that other public-based trade unions are allowed to negotiate all terms and conditions of service for their members. This amounts to gross injustice to academic staff, who have no part to play in the delays or otherwise in previous CBA negotiations.”

Major grievances

The union outlined seven major grievances, including the lack of salary adjustments, stagnation of house allowance rates, insufficient annual increments, and failure to implement car loan and mortgage schemes promised under earlier agreements.

Uasu argued that university lecturers have suffered a 26.1 per cent erosion in purchasing power since the last wage review in 2021, citing data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showing a sharp rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

“This should be compensated in full to protect workers from a decline in real wages,” the union stated. 

On housing, Uasu protested that no increment has been made in more than 17 years, forcing staff to live in substandard conditions.

The union also rejected IPUCCF’s proposal for a 4 per cent annual increment, insisting that it must be at least 5 per cent to cushion staff against inflation.

The ongoing industrial dispute has severely disrupted academic calendars across several public universities for over a month.

Many institutions have either suspended classes or postponed examinations, citing a lack of teaching staff and administrative paralysis.

The government has directed vice-chancellors to ensure that learning resumes and that universities’ academic calendars are not further disrupted.

Several institutions have begun recalling students and reorganising class schedules in anticipation of a breakthrough.

At Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academics, Prof Hussein Golicha, urged students to return to campus amid efforts to normalise learning.

However, student leaders across various campuses have decried the uncertainty caused by the standoff.