Universities Academic Staff Union Demand Release of Full Salaries

Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) in Kenya is demanding the release of their full salaries as ordered by a court.

The lecturers accuse the universities of withholding part of their salaries and paying them way below what was negotiated.

The Union said the institutions had accumulated huge salary arrears, which represents workers ranging from graduate assistants to professors.

The gross arrears for a professor in Egerton University amount to Sh615,408, University of Nairobi Sh307,704, Tom Mboya Sh215,393 and Maasai Mara University Sh481,780

An associate professor at Egerton is owed Sh847,140, at UoN Sh423,564, Tom Mboya Sh296,495 and Maasai Mara Sh663,195.

In a letter to University Education and Research Principal Secretary Simon Nabukwesi, UASU secretary-general Constantine Wasonga said implementation of the 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was chaotic and causing distress among lecturers.

He said 28 out of the 35 public universities continue to pay academic staff basic salary below the scales agreed in the 2017-2021 CBA.

He said Universities such as UoN, Kenyatta, Jomo Kenyatta and Technical University of Kenya, are underpaying academic staff.

He said only seven universities and university colleges out of 35 have so far placed academic staff in the correct basic salary scale at the levels specified in the 2017-2021 CBA.

The universities include Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Chuka, Kibabii, Masinde Muliro, Garissa, Alupe and Kaimosi Friends.

Dr Wasonga said the universities were implementing the CBA in their own way against a court order and have amassed huge arrears while some had retained the balance of funds though the Treasury had released the money to pay staff.

The Treasury had released Sh6.6 billion to universities to pay academic staff under the agreement.

He added that although the CBA expired in June 30, the negotiated salaries remain in force until a new CBA for 2021-2025 is negotiated and signed.

Dr Wasonga said In some universities such as Tom Mboya, administrators were making unexplained deductions of up to 30 percent of the amount due to workers while some universities also froze promotions and annual raises while others have not.

In other instances, he said, universities have used money meant for academic staff to pay vice-chancellors, their deputies and other management staff who were not covered by the CBA.

UASU wants the Ministry of Education to intervene and facilitate disbursement of Sh2.2 billion already appropriated for in the CBA.

They also want the ministry to audit how the Sh6.6 billion already disbursed was used and facilitate the disbursement of Sh5.012 billion in arrears under the CBA and Sh2.76 billion meant for pension liabilities.