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Thousands of students at Egerton University are staring at total disruption of studies yet again if lecturers make good their threat to go on strike from Monday.

University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) who have the largest members at the institution vowed to down tools on Monday and join their Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) counterparts.

Yesterday, employees from the two unions spent hours of their time picketing in the institution with minimal activities being witnessed at the facility.  Industrial action threats come amid a crisis meeting by the university council which continued behind closed doors in a bid to stop the strike.

KUSU Egerton Chapter chairperson Benjamin Ruto revealed the union had legally launched their strike after the expiry of a seven-day notice to the management.

“Other workers unions have also issued their notices and we shall kick off our joint strike on Monday,” said Ruto.

The workers who include lecturers are demanding reinstatement of their full salaries which were slashed at the height of Covid-19 pandemic two years ago.

They also want the university to honour their pending 2013-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and settle salary arrears accrued since 2020. At the same time, UASU Egerton Chapter Secretary Grace Kibue expressed the union’s fury with the management over the same issues saying revealing that they will down their tools.