Uasu accuses Moi University of ignoring deal, vows to continue strike
The Universities Academic Staff Union said negotiations with the university management have collapsed, with both sides failing to agree on a way forward despite two weeks of industrial action.
Lecturers at Moi University have vowed to continue their strike until the institution clears arrears totaling more than Sh9 billion and implements all their demands under the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) said negotiations with the university management have collapsed, with both sides failing to agree on a way forward despite two weeks of industrial action.
Branch secretary Wegesa Busolo said on Tuesday that union officials met with the institution’s management team, led by Vice Chancellor Prof Kiplagat Kotut, in Nairobi, but the talks ended without progress.
“The management summoned us for what they termed as consultations, but at the meeting in Nairobi we could not agree on their offer for us to call off the strike,” he said.
The lecturers are demanding arrears amounting to more than Sh9 billion, including Sh5 billion in unremitted pension contributions and the balance covering other benefits.
Busolo noted that the university has neglected its obligation to remit pension contributions for years, leaving many retired staff without benefits.
“The university has failed to remit our pension contributions for many years, and now many of our staff are retiring without any benefits,” he said during a press briefing in Eldoret.
The dons also want payment of delayed June and July 2025 salaries at the CBA rates and full implementation of a return-to-work formula signed on November 30, 2024.
According to Busolo, the agreement contained 25 clauses, but the university has ignored all of them.
“They have disregarded everything we agreed on, and we have decided not to engage in futile negotiations while we continue to suffer,” he said.
He further accused the new university management of worsening the situation instead of improving it. “When they came in, the first thing they did was to declare 120 lecturers redundant,” he said.
Moi University, which has more than 1,000 lecturers under Uasu, is also accused of misusing Sh500 million released last year to address staff welfare.
Busolo alleged that the money was instead diverted to settle bank loans.
“At Moi University, employees just work and prepare to die without any benefits, including pensions, which have not been remitted for over five years,” he said.
