The Employment and Labour Court has declared the nationwide lecturers’ strike illegal, directing the government and the University Academic Staff Union to initiate negotiations and reach an amicable solution.
This ruling comes a day after UASU workers resumed strike on October 28 after being ignored by the government.
The Union and its members had issued a fresh 7-day notice to the government vowing to down their tools on October 29 should their demands remain unmet.
The notice by UASU was signed by the national secretary general of the Union, Constantine Wasonga, and was endorsed by 38 tertiary institutions among them 35 public universities and 3 colleges across the country.
The lecturers faulted the government for failing to implement their agreed CBA.
On September 13th this year, UASU met with Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, where parties reached an agreement for salary increments for all university workers.
The parties had agreed on a pay increase of between 7 per cent and 10 per cent for university staff, with those in grades 13A–15A receiving a 7 per cent increase and those in grades 10A–12A receiving a 10 per cent increase.
UASU has disclosed that they have been engaging the government to sign a return to work formula with the last attempt to reach an agreement bearing no fruits in a meeting held on September 26.
The Court has however granted UASU 14 days to file a response on the matter and the case will be mentioned on November 28.
