Varsity union officials now risk contempt of court charges

University staff union officials now risk being cited for contempt of court if they do not call off the strike by 22,000 workers, which has paralysed learning in public universities since last week.

Industrial Court Judge Monica Mbaru told lawyers representing the unions Monday to advise their clients that the court order issued last week declaring the strike illegal was still valid and must be complied with.

The lawyers had denied knowledge of any court order stopping the strike that started on Wednesday.

“We are only seeing the order today. We have not been served. We need to take instructions. There are insinuations that our client is in defiance of court order, that is not correct,” Riunga Raji, appearing for University Academic Staff Union (Uasu), told Justice Mbaru.

The Judge told the lawyers to advise the union officials that the orders had now been served and should be complied with.

“There are orders of this court still in force. They are valid orders of this court until vacated. These orders are to be respected,” said Justice Mbaru.

She extended orders stopping the strike and set the hearing date for April 1.

The university staff union leaders had on Tuesday been ordered to appear in court last Wednesday to answer allegations of engaging in an illegal strike.

The lecturers and non-academic staff are demanding salaries and allowances amounting to Sh3.9 billion, half of the increases negotiated in 2010. They say the first instalment was paid in 2012, but the second tranche was not paid last year as agreed.

The workers allege that university administrators had used the balance to pay themselves more than they were entitled to or to meet other shortfalls at the institutions.

READ: How varsities diverted Sh7.8 billion prompting strike threat

On Monday, the workers accused university administrators of mischief, saying the institutions did not act on the 21-day strike notice until on the eve of the industrial action.

Lawyers representing the striking workers asked the court to make pronouncements on when a strike can be deemed legal or illegal to stop employers from waiting until the last minute to stop ‘‘legal industrial action’.’

However, Gladwell Mumia, representing the Inter-Public University Consultative Forum, said the universities had gone to court as a last resort after failing to reach an agreement with the workers.

She said the workers only gave seven days’ notice and not 21 as claimed. The workers said calling off the strike would be difficult because the order stopped the parties from discussing the matter outside the courts.

On Monday, Parliament said it would summon vice-chancellors of public universities over the strike.

The House Education committee wants the administrators to explain why they had not honoured the pay award to workers yet the money had been released to the institutions by the government.

“The only way out is to get to the bottom of the problem by interrogating the VCs to tell us what exactly happened to the money,” Education committee vice-chairman Julius Meli said.