Workers in Kisii campuses take part in nationwide demo

Campuses in Kisii County have downed their tools to join their colleagues in the ongoing nationwide university workers’ strike.

Hundreds of the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) members at Kisii University thronged Kisii town to push for the implementation of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was signed in 2013 between the unions and the government.

Normal operations in the higher institutions were paralyzed for the better part of Thursday as the union's members vowed to strike until their needs are met, despite the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruling to bar the nationwide strike.

The Secretary General of KUSU, Kisii University branch, Mr. Moses Nyandusu, said the government had taken the workers in circles instead of implementing the signed CBA.

He noted that for universities to achieve quality education, their needs must be listened to.

“If Matiang’i is anticipating to achieve quality in universities, it will not be achieved if workers are not motivated,” said Nyandusu.

The secretary General UASU Kisii University chapter, Mr. Mactosh Onwong’a, said the union members in the institution will continue with the strike until the CBA will be totally implemented by the government.

Learning has stalled while several offices in the university closed down following the strike.

The strike also affected learning in the branch campuses in Kisii town which include University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, JKUAT.