Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection Alfred Mutua has constituted an inter-ministerial negotiation team to look into the concerns raised by the striking university staff.

In a statement on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, CS Mutua revealed that the team will consist of representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), public universities, the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC), and the staff unions.

The CS indicated that the inter-ministerial team would help strike a deal that would end the learning disruption that has been caused by the staff strike.

“This committee will address the key concerns raised by the unions and work toward a return-to-work agreement,” CS Mutua’s statement read in part.

The decision to establish a negotiation team was arrived at following a comprehensive meeting with officials from the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU).

UASU Secretary General Dr. Constantine Wasonga and KUSU Secretary General Dr. Charles Mukhwaya also graced the meeting with the Labour CS which made a first step in ending the strike.

“I emphasized the urgency of resolving the issues that have led to this strike. We cannot allow these matters to fester and disrupt the education of thousands of students. My ministry is committed to fairness and balance in negotiations, and it is crucial that once Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) are signed, they are honoured. If challenges arise, workers must be informed in a timely and transparent manner,” Mutua highlighted.

“The unions are seeking resolutions on salary increments and allowances, alongside other issues outlined in the CBA. The inter-ministerial committee will commence discussions tomorrow, and we will work diligently until we reach a resolution,” he added.

The university staff strike has now entered its second week and disrupted learning in all public universities across the country.

Their demands

The lecturers have been pushing for the implementation of their 2021- 2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Dons and staff affiliated with the UASU are agitated over stalled negotiations on the 2021-25 collective bargaining agreement which hasn’t been implemented since 2017.

On Monday, September 23, 2024, some of the lecturers staged protests in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). However, they were dispersed by the law enforcement officers.

Despite being met by force and dispersed, their officials vowed to soldier on if their demands were honoured.