Talks to resolve lecturers' strike collapse, yet again

By  Lynet Igadwah

Senior Reporter

Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

• The unions vowed to continue the strike they called following delays to negotiate and sign the 2025–2029 CBA.
• Union officials said they were shocked when the government tabled a verbal counter-offer of Sh11,958, 504,776.

University students might go longer without being taught after a meeting convened on Monday ended in disarray after unions representing lecturers and non-academic rejected a government offer of Sh11.9 billion for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), saying they have not been involved in any negotiation.

The unions vowed to continue the strike they called following delays to negotiate and sign the 2025–2029 CBA. It was the third meeting, in a month, between the unions and the government. 

The workers were represented by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) while the government side had the Inter-Ministerial Committee.

This is the second time in two weeks that talks to resolve the strike have hit a snug with the unions decrying a ‘woefuly inadequate’ counter offer on the 2025-2029 CBA by the government.

During Monday's meeting, union officials said they were shocked when the government tabled a verbal counter-offer of Sh11,958, 504,776 billion in an attempt to resolve the CBA dispute.

“What happened to the Sh12 billion they tabled two weeks ago? Today, they came back with Sh11 billion, a reduced counter-offer. We can confirm that the talks have collapsed, and the strike is now going to intensify,” UASU secretary-general Dr Constantine Wasonga said.

A fortnight ago, the unions rejected the Sh12 billion offer from government which they termed as “global figures” that do not account for inflation and other individual components of the CBAs, warning that the country should brace for a prolonged strike.

Dr Wasonga the offer was inadequate in the face of rising cost of living, as it translates to an increment of approximately three percent in basic salaries.

“This is an abuse of workers, given the current high cost of living, where even fuel prices have increased by more than 20 percent. What does a three percent basic salary increment mean under these circumstances?” he posed.

Kenya’s latest annual inflation rate is 6.8 per cent as of September 2026, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

The industrial action called by UASU, KUSU and KUDHEIHA on October 2 2026 has disrupted operations across public universities.

KUSU secretary-general Charles Mukhwaya noted there was lack of goodwill from the government and the employers’ side to bring the dispute to a close.

“Today, they called us for another meeting and came with Sh11 billion, which is less than the previous Sh12 billion. To us, this means the government wants the strike to continue, and we are ready,” he said during a media briefing after the talks collapsed.

He scoffed at revelations by the National Treasury that vice chancellors under the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) were negotiating on behalf of the unions.

“When one party decides what unions should receive, it sidelines the unions’ right to negotiate. Employers cannot meet in secret corners to determine what we will get. We will not rubber-stamp that,” he stated.

UASU said it had sought a five percent annual salary increment, alongside an automatic annual increment that would bring the total increase to seven percent.

During Monday's meeting, the government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee tabled a verbal counter-offer seeking to raise the CBA budget from Sh9.7 billion to Sh11 billion. 

Labour principal secretary Shadrack Mwadime yesterday said the government will put its counter-offer to the unions in writing and the parties will meet again on Wednesday to continue negotiations

Higher Education principal secretary Beatrice Inyangala recently wrote to her Treasury counterpart Chris Kiptoo appealing  for a review of budgetary commitment for the 2025-2029 CBA s proposal for public universities.

“The purpose of this letter is to appeal for review of the budgetary commitment for 2025-2029 CBAs proposals for public universities from Sh9.76 billion to Sh11.95 billion,” she says in the in a letter dated October 23 2026.

Appearing before the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee last week, Dr Inyangala said the government’s Sh9.7 billion offer fell far short of the unions’ Sh98 billion demand, making an amicable settlement difficult despite ongoing negotiations.

Dr Wasonga argued that the overall cost of the agreement should be determined after the parties have negotiated individual components, which attract different rates of adjustment.

He cited house allowances, which he said had not been reviewed for 17 years, as one of the outstanding issues.

“For instance, our house allowances have not been reviewed for the last 17 years, so we told them to give us a paltry 10 percent increment, because in 2023, the government increased civil servants’ house allowances by 10 percent,” he said.

KUDHEIHA shop steward Odongo Genga echoed the sentiments, saying a three percent basic salary increase that does not factor in automatic annual increments was unacceptable.

“The Ministry of Labour does surveys every now and then, and we know they have the facts in their hands. They should advise the government to do the right thing,” he said.

Last year, operations in public universities were grounded following a three-month industrial dispute that was resolved through a return-to-work formula signed in November that year and subsequently adopted as a court order.

Under Clause 12 of the agreement, the IPUCCF and the three university staff unions were required to fast-track negotiations for the 2025–2029 CBAs and conclude them within 30 days.

ligadwah@ke.nationmedia.com

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