CS Amina orders defiant lecturers back to class

Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has ordered lecturers to call off their strike and resume teaching, saying they were acting in contempt of court.

Amb. Amina said lecturers unions have been served with court orders directing them to go back to class, as negotiations on their demands continue.

“Right now the lecturers are in contempt in court. They should go back to class and while teaching they can have these discussions with us,” said Amina.

The CS, who has been silent on the matter, said her delay in addressing the strike – which is in its fourth week now – was occasioned by the delayed release of human resource data which will assist her ministry in bargaining the best offers for all university staff.

Speaking during a prize giving ceremony at Mary Hill Girls in Thika Amb. Amina said after assessing the audited human resource data and job evaluation of university staff, the ministry will announce the way forward.

The Education CS noted that the ministry had in an earlier meeting agreed with unionists to be patient before the processing and assessment of the data.

She added that from the data, the ministry of education will make offers that “make sense based on the workers at the universities.”

She revealed that the ministry had put in place an inter-ministerial body to look into the demands that lecturers have continually demanded, adding that her office was committed to offering a long term solution to the stalemate.

The lecturers have been pushing for implementation of 2017-2021 Collecting Bargaining Agreement.

On March 17, the Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered the lecturers to resume work and directed the government to give a counteroffer on the lecturers 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) within 30 days.

“Universities Academic Staff Union should call off the strike and the employees to resume work on Monday, March 19, 2018 at 8.00 hours,” ruled Judge Onesmus Makau.

The dons have, however vowed to go on with the industrial action until the government heeds their demands.

“We want to tell students go home. Give us one or two years to solve university problem so that when you come back you study and finish. This strike is not ending soon,” said Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga.