Varsity staff now threaten another strike if Sh10b pay deal is phased

UASU Secretary General Constantine wasonga. (Photo: Collins Oduor/Standard)

University workers and lecturers have threatened to call another strike if the Government honours the Sh10 billion salary deal in two phases.

The workers’ unions said they will take to the streets starting July 1 if the pay rise is not implemented in one phase by the end of this month.

“Let them be cautioned that lecturers are more than ready and willing to start a fresh strike on July 1 if the money is not paid in full and at once,” said University Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary General Constantine Wasonga.

The Government signed the deal with UASU, the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha) and the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU), which ended a 54-day strike on March 13.

The deal was that the workers would get the pay rise starting July 1 and the Government now has five days to honour it. This means learning in public universities could be paralysed if the unions make good their threat.

Historical CBA

“This is a historical CBA which has a deadline of June 30. It cannot be implemented in phases. All workers want to see the money by the end of the month,” said Wasonga.

KUSU Secretary General Charles Mukhwaya said the unions did not negotiate for a phased payment plan.

“What we know is that the line ministry and the Treasury are working out payments, which must be done on or before June 30. It is our expectation that the payment will be done and that we shall not be pushed any other way again,” said Mukhwaya.

Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the lowest paid professor who earns Sh144,672 will take home Sh170,050 per month, translating to accrued arrears of Sh745,953, payable by end of June this year.

Assistant lecturers will earn between Sh82,037 and Sh117,121, while lecturers will take home between Sh97,984 and Sh139,711. Senior lecturers are set to get between Sh110,742 and Sh158,967 per month. Associate professors will now earn between Sh144,524 and Sh203,300 per month.

The lowest paid Kudheiha worker under Grade I who currently earns Sh9,485 will take home Sh11,842. Workers in the highest Grade IV who currently earn a minimum of Sh15,843 will take home Sh20,149. The pay bracket will be open to an upper limit of Sh24,505.

KUSU workers in the lowest cadres (Grade A) who earn Sh17,741 will take home Sh23,053 after the pay rise and those in Grade D, being the upper grade, will earn up to Sh47,198.

Details show that these workers’ salaries may go further up as it emerged that universities’ managements provided inflated staff data by 2,513, creating a surplus of Sh800 million.

The Saturday Standard established that the unions are now entangled in another fight with the Government over the sharing of the surplus millions.

Staff data declared by the 31 public universities before negotiations was 30,312. But after an audit initiated by the unions, the correct number of staff is 27,798. This means only Sh9.14 billion will be needed to compensate the workers.

Unions however claim that vice chancellors want the surplus amount shared equally among the staff, a move they have rejected. Union officials said the money cannot be used to repair distortions created by the universities’ managements.

“They want to use the money to seal the salary disparities which they have created over the years. But the ministry was clear that harmonisation will be done after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission completes job evaluation,” said Wasonga.

A letter by Higher Education PS Colletta Suda dated February 6 reads, “The government has decided to make an offer of Sh10 billion to fully fund the entire four-year historical CBA 2013-2017.”

Prof Suda further said the offer was made against the knowledge that the SRC had embarked on a job evaluation for the university sector which, when completed, would only harmonise university sector salaries.

Uasu Friday said the three unions negotiated varying amounts of money, adding that it is unacceptable to share the surplus equally.