National Assembly. /PARLIAMENTLecturers and non-teaching staff in public universities have taken their long-running dispute with the government over unfulfilled pay deals to Parliament, seeking urgent intervention to end a four-year impasse that has paralysed higher education.
The university staff, represented by the University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) and the Kenya University Staff Union (Kusu), outlined their frustrations in a petition to the National Assembly.
The document was presented by Uasu Secretary General Constantine Wesonga and his Kusu counterpart Charles Mukhwaya.
While reading the petition on Thursday, Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss highlighted the protracted disagreement over the actual amounts owed to about 30,000 public university employees.
The unions maintain that the total cost of implementing the 2017–21 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is Sh16.57 billion, including pension and liabilities, not the Sh8.8 billion computed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
The petitioners explained that the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) and Uasu signed the 2017–21 CBA on October 28, 2019, which was later registered by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
In May 2020, Parliament approved the Supplementary II Budget Estimates for the 2019–20 financial year, which contained funds to implement the CBA and subsequently appropriated them under the Supplementary Appropriations Act, 2020.
According to the unions, the National Treasury released Sh6.6 billion to public universities in July 2020 as initial funding, covering part of the arrears in basic salaries.
The balance of Sh2.2 billion was expected in the 2021–22 budget, but only Sh2 billion was allocated, leaving a shortfall of Sh200 million.
They blamed the government for allegedly breaching the registered CBA by failing to pay the full arrears, claiming that none of the universities has cleared the dues.
The unions said the matter was taken to the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which ruled in favour of the university staff, before being upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The court issued interim orders for partial implementation of the CBA.
The lecturers and university staff are also demanding the immediate start of negotiations for the 2025–29 CBA.
“We will not return to work until even the new 2025–29 CBA is discussed and agreed upon,” they said, linking the settlement of old arrears to the start of new talks.
The petition has now been referred to the Departmental Committee on Education for consideration, in line with parliamentary procedure.
The committee, chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, is expected to meet the National Treasury and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology next week to deliberate on the issue.
The escalation to Parliament comes amid a deepening standoff between the unions and the Ministry of Education over the exact amount owed to lecturers.
Appearing before MPs on Wednesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the government only owes Sh624 million and is open to dialogue with the unions to agree on how to settle it.
Ogamba told MPs that the SRC disputed the Sh7.9 billion the unions claim remains unpaid, insisting that Sh7.2 billion was already covered through normal annual salary increments, leaving only Sh624 million outstanding.
“The difference in implementation is a matter we are ready to resolve amicably through objective discussions,” he said.
The CS added that under the 2021–25 CBA, the government has already disbursed Sh9.76 billion in three tranches.
He described the ongoing industrial action, now in its fourth week, as illegal, citing a September 18, 2025, court ruling that interdicted the strike.
