UASU gives Government seven days to avert lecturers’ strike

The UASU leadership led by the secretary general, during the press briefing.

NAIROBI, Thursday, September 24.

Lecturers in public universities have issued the Government with a seven-day ultimatum to resolve a stalled collective bargaining agreement or face a nationwide strike.

UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga said the union will down its tools if the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is not negotiated, signed, registered and implemented within the notice period.

“The Universities Academic Staff Union hereby issues a seven-day notice of nationwide strike,” Wasonga said.

The union said the strike threat follows what it described as the Government’s continued failure to honour commitments made under the Return-to-Work Formula signed in November 2025, as negotiations over the new CBA remain unresolved.

Wasonga said the union had been pushed to take industrial action after the Government failed to provide a financial counter-proposal for the 2025–2029 agreement.

The union said the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) informed it on September 21 that neither the Ministry of Education nor the National Treasury had provided a written commitment that funding for public universities’ CBAs would be provided through the National Exchequer.

UASU said the absence of the commitment had blocked the process of developing financial counter-proposals needed to move the negotiations forward.

The lecturers also raised concern over proposals that could see public universities increasingly rely on student fees and market-based funding to finance their operations and staff remuneration.

The union rejected the proposal, arguing that academic staff in public universities are public officers whose salaries and other employment benefits should be funded through the National Exchequer.

“Academic staff in public universities are public officers. We resist any attempt to strip lecturers of their public officer status through back-door mechanisms,” the union said.

UASU further questioned whether the Government was moving towards a market-based funding model for public universities without first establishing a clear policy and legal framework.

The union said it had been asked to consider statements attributed to Dr David Ndii on market-based funding for university students, as well as provisions contained in the proposed Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026.

It questioned the basis for changing university funding policy through statements made on social media before the proposed legislation is enacted.

UASU is demanding an immediate Government commitment to fund the 2025–2029 CBA through the National Exchequer and resume the process of negotiating, signing, registering and implementing the agreement.

The union is also demanding safeguards for lecturers’ remuneration in the proposed Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill and meaningful involvement in the development of human resource instruments for public universities.

The latest threat sets the stage for a fresh confrontation between university lecturers and the Government, with thousands of students potentially affected if the dispute is not resolved within the seven-day window.

UASU said it remains ready to engage the Government but warned that lecturers cannot continue working without a concluded CBA.