University lecturers and other public university workers are set to begin a nationwide strike on Friday, October 2, after unions rejected the latest pay offer from university employers, setting the stage for fresh disruption across campuses.
The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and KUDHEIHA Workers Union said talks with the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) had failed to resolve outstanding disputes over salaries, allowances, medical cover and staffing.
The strike follows the expiry of a seven-day notice issued by the unions over delays in concluding and implementing the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
UASU says the dispute stretches back to a return-to-work agreement signed on November 5, 2025, which ended a 49-day lecturers’ strike and committed the parties to negotiate a new CBA.
The union says those talks have dragged on despite repeated engagement with university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury.
The unions on Thursday rejected IPUCCF’s latest counter-offer, saying it failed to address concerns they had raised in response to an earlier proposal.
They also accused employers of disregarding provisions of the registered 2021–2025 CBA, particularly commitments to harmonize allowances in the subsequent bargaining cycle.
The unions described the offer as “unacceptable in its entirety”, arguing that it failed to adequately address the cost of living and working conditions in public universities.
A major sticking point is the proposed automatic annual salary increment of four per cent.
“The proposed automatic annual increment of 4 per cent is below the prevailing inflation rates of more than 6 per cent,” the unions said, arguing that the offer would not sufficiently cushion workers from the rising cost of living.
They also rejected the proposed medical benefits, saying the package was inferior to what civil servants in comparable job grades receive.
Staffing has also emerged as a key point of contention. The unions say public universities have not recruited enough lecturers to match growing student enrolment, leaving academic departments overstretched.
UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said lecturers had been patient since negotiations began last November but had exhausted available avenues for engagement.
“We started engaging in last year November and we have been patient as a union,” Wasonga said. “When you see us issue a strike notice, it means we have exhausted all the channels.”
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