Kenyan lecturers vow to sue State over breach of pay contract

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By WALTER MENYA wmenya@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, December 26  2011 at  22:30

Another university lecturers’ strike is looming after fresh pay talks in Nakuru collapsed last week.

The lecturers on Monday said that they would sue the government for alleged breach of contract after pulling out of the salary talks unexpectedly.

The Universities’ Academic Staff Union (Uasu) said the failure by government to meet its side of the return-to-work agreement amounted to a breach of contract.

Uasu secretary general Muga K’Orlale further told the Nation that the union would engage with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission once it is in place but that the legal suit would go on.

“The talks collapsed,” he said, “We are waiting to file a case early in the year against the government for breach of our Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement has not been implemented by the government”.

The filing of the case is likely to coincide with the opening of public universities and their constituent colleges in mid January.

Secret pay talks in Nakuru collapsed Wednesday last week after the government side called off a meeting where it was expected to table its salary proposals. (READ: Was State playing games with lecturers?)

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Angry Uasu is now seeking legal redress over the government’s “lack of seriousness.”

The lecturers, alongside their non-teaching staff, had last month staged a week-long strike paralysing learning in public universities.

But they called off the strike after Labour Minister John Munyes brokered an agreement that saw the unions and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) get down to negotiations.

The government, represented by IPUCCF and University of Nairobi deputy vice-chancellor, Prof Peter Mbithi, alongside representatives of each of the seven universities and their constituent colleges, was expected to unveil a new offer at the Nakuru talks.

But the officials failed to turn up, leaving representatives Uasu waiting in vain. Higher Education assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria had said that the Treasury had agreed to set aside funds for the don’s salary review.

Uasu is seeking implementation of a new structure that will double the basic pay of lecturers and improve their allowances.

It proposes to raise the pay of a professor to a maximum of Sh400,000, up from the current 165,000 a month, and a new house allowance of Sh95,000, up from Sh64,000.An associate professor’s salary would rise from Sh135,000 to Sh298,000.