Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology lecturers have downed tools over Sh50 million salary arrears.
The over 300 part-time lecturers said they will not teach or mark exam papers unless their dues are paid in full.
They are from the institution’s main campus as well as Kisumu and Nambale campuses.
Led by Jooust Part-Time Lecturers interim chairman Antony Ayora, the dons told the Star at the Nambale campus in Busia on Wednesday that they have not received payment for the last five years.
"We are intimidated by the management whenever we ask for our dues," Ayora said.
He said despite having presented a petition to the institution’s vice-chancellor Prof Stephen Agong’ on October 26, nothing has been done.
Ayora said the management has resorted to divide and rule tactics by promising some of the members full-time jobs so that they can go back to class. He said hardliners were being threatened.
"In case our issues are not addressed, we shall move to the court to seek justice,” Ayora said.
He said most of the lecturers do not have appointment letters yet they are assigned classes to teach and must set and mark exams.
"Whenever the issue of payment arises, the part-time lecturers are told they are not employees of the university because they do not have appointment letters,” he said.
Some of the lecturers with appointment letters claimed not to have been paid as well.
He said they filled their payment claims manually for the 2018-19 financial year as was required but were yet to get salaries deposited into their accounts.
However in June this year, they were asked to fill the claims afresh online through the Enterprise Resource Planning system, which according to Ayora, does not display units taught.
Part-time lecturers are required to teach, set exams, invigilate, mark and submit the results together with course outlines and marking schemes before they can be paid after filling a claim form with KRA pin and class attendance sheets attached according to the lecturers.
In a rejoinder, the university VC admitted salary delays.
He however said the pending salary payments were for 2018-19 and not from 2016.
Agong’ told the Star on the phone that the arrears are below Sh30 million and not above 50 million as claimed by the lecturers.
“For the 2018-19 arrears, we have not refused to pay them but the lecturers have to comply with the new regulations of uploading their payment claims through the Enterprise Resource Planning system,” Agong’ said.
“Some want to use shortcuts and put numbers that do not exist. Some of them do not have appointment letters, how do you claim we are related yet there is no letter to prove that?” he asked.
Agong' dismissed claims that the university has been rundown due to poor management saying the institution was stable.
-Edited by SKanyara
