Economy

State silent on Sh8bn pay offer as dons plan strike

SUDA

University Education Principal Secretary Colette Suda. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The State is silent on the fate of its Sh8.8 billion pay offer for lecturers even as the Education ministry appealed to the university staff to shelve their plan to go on strike starting January 20.

University Education Principal Secretary Collete Suda was Thursday noncommittal on whether the State still has the cash offer on the table even as she appealed to lecturers to give dialogue a chance.

“We have to discuss the issue with sober mind and put all cards on the table. I know we will get a solution,” said Prof Suda hours after the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) issued a strike threat.

The union said its members will withdraw services on January 20, accusing the government of failing to honour a 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The CBA signed in October last year was supposed to be implemented from last month.

Uasu Secretary General Constantine Wasonga said the union will shelve the planned strike if the government releases the Sh8.8 billion agreed on last year as it addresses other issues that have arisen as a result of the CBA. “According to the computation based on Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) the deal was supposed to be Sh13.8billion. If we add pension it moves to Sh16.2billion. However, given the hard economic times, we agreed that we take Sh8.8 billion but now the government is playing games with us,” said Dr Wasonga.

He claimed that the ministry had diverted the cash to other areas and warned that it would not be business as usual.

“On Monday, we will issue a seven-day strike notice, it’s upon the government to use the seven days to address our concerns,” said Dr Wasonga.