Hope for Students as UASU accepts Sh.4.3 Billion CBA offer

Nairobi, 

Thursday, 21 November, 2024 

McCreadie Andias 

The protracted lecturers’ strike could soon come to an end after the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) accepted a Sh4.3 billion offer from the National Treasury to implement the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Speaking before the National Assembly Education Committee on Thursday, UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga announced the union’s conditional acceptance of the partial payment while demanding that the remaining Sh5.4 billion be settled in two financial years.

“UASU accepts the Sh4.3 billion, but the government must commit to paying the Sh5.4 billion in two installments: half in the 2025/2026 financial year and the remainder in 2026/2027,” Wasonga stated.

Wasonga also directed lecturers to resume teaching as negotiations for the balance continue. However, he maintained that the strike would officially remain in place until the government provides a concrete plan to pay the full Sh9.7 billion agreed in the CBA.

“The strike is on until we get the Sh9.7 billion. We will take the Sh4.3 billion, but the government must voluntarily outline how we are getting the Sh5.4 billion,” he told reporters after the committee meeting.

The meeting included key stakeholders such as Principal Secretary for Higher Education Beatrice Inyangala, Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime, and members of the Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF).

Chairperson of the National Assembly Education Committee, Julius Melly, directed all parties to come to a formal agreement and sign a commitment to implement the CBA.

“We are instructing all parties to meet and agree on calling off the strike so students can resume learning as early as tomorrow,” said Melly, who is also the Tinderet MP.

The Sh4.3 billion offer represents a step toward resolving the contentious negotiations, which have caused widespread disruption in universities across the country. Stakeholders are now racing against time to restore normalcy in institutions of higher learning