Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Officials of a lecturers’ union yesterday threatened to call a protest over persistent salary delays
and failure by the government and university administrations to remit statutory deductions for public university staff.

University employees are under financial strain because of the delays, said University Academic Staff
Union (UASU) secretary general Constantine Wasonga.

Wasonga described pay delays as insensitive and inconsiderate, highlighting the consequences on the
welfare of union members.

“The union shall not condone any delays in the release of salaries to public universities in future and shall take action to force compliance in line with the provisions of the law,” he warned.

“The inability of universities to pay gross salaries to our members has resulted in dire consequences.”
He listed several critical issues arising from the delays, including non-remittance of National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) contributions, non-payment of third-party deductions for loans and
insurance, and suspension of other essential services.

Bank repossessions “Our members lose property due to repossession by banks and other financial institutions due to failure to service loans, and penalties on delayed remittances,” he lamented.

“Academic staff who retire are unable to get their pension and are wallowing in poverty and ill health.
Many lecturers and their families have no access to healthcare.”

He also criticised the reduction of salaries at Technical University of Kenya (TUK), where staff were said to have received only 65 percent of their expected pay “What annoyed us is what happened at the Technical University of Kenya, where the university just woke up and decided to pay our members a net salary at the rate of 65 percent,” he said.

“Don’t get used to 65 percent, because you did not offer your services at 65 percent. We have been warning the government consistently that there’s a problem at Technical University of Kenya and they have failed to take action.”

Condemning the decision, Wasonga said such cuts are unacceptable, particularly in the current economic climate.

He also highlighted the implications of the financial challenges union members faced, including an alleged rise in mortality among university workers.

UASU national chairperson Grace Nyongesa noted that union members’s salries are frequently delayed. Nyongesa added that this demonstrated a lack of respect for these workers. She noted that members of the union are entitled to enjoy their social and economic rights just like other Kenyans.

Another strike threat UASU’s protest notice comes days after teachers unions Knut and Kuppet threatened to mobilise their members for a strike in September unless the government commits to implements phase two of their 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement that could have allowed a 7.9 salary rise in July.

On Tuesday newly appointed Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua met with Knut officials as the government moved to persuade teachers not to take industrial action in a critical term when students
will sit their national examinations.

Mutua offered to meet with the Teachers Service Commission by next week to find solutions for the teachers’ grievances.