Treasury PS Kamau Thugge on Thursday told Parliament the court order against the job grades developed by the SRC was an impediment to settling the pay talks for the four years to 2021.
Dr Thugge said it is only after completion of the job evaluation that the Treasury would be able to know the amount to offer and that is affordable and sustainable.
The lecturers’ strike looks set to last longer after the Treasury insisted the dons first withdraw a suit opposing implementation of new job grades before tabling a counter-offer.
Treasury PS Kamau Thugge on Thursday told Parliament the court order against the job grades developed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) was an impediment to settling the pay talks for the four years to 2021.
Public university lecturers in August blocked through court the implementation of the new job grading system because it ranked administrators with less education above them on the pay scale.
Once implemented, degree-holder administrators such as the university librarian and finance officers were to earn more than senior lecturers with PhD qualifications.
The Treasury’s stance will likely delay talks to end the nationwide strike that has disrupted learning for 44 days.
“As of now, our hands are tied because the SRC was not able to complete job evaluation for university staff. In our opinion, the union should withdraw the court case to allow the SRC to finalise the exercise,” he told the Committee on Education.
Dr Thugge said it is only after completion of the job evaluation that the Treasury would be able to know the amount to offer and that is affordable and sustainable.
However, Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) secretary-general Constantine Wasonga said negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) could be linked to the contentious job evaluation.
“The court case between SRC and Uasu is not a valid reason for the ministry to fail to give a counteroffer,” he told the committee chaired by Julius Melly (Tinderet MP).
The strike has lasted over a month, paralysing operations in public universities as the dons push for a pay increment agreed under the 2017/2022 CBA.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered lecturers to resume work, declaring the strike illegal but the lecturers appealed the order.
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