Lecturers back to class as CBA implementation formula reached

Public universities lecturers and universities governing councils have ratified the contested 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for the university dons, thereby ending the 54-day-long lecturers’ strike that had paralyzed learning in the institutions of higher education.

The signing of the deal came after seven days of intensive negotiations between the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and representatives of all universities councils.

The four year CBA, from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2017 awards the dons a 17.5 per cent increment on basic salary and 3.9 per cent rise on housing allowance.

All the payments will be back dated to the date the CBA took effect, June 30, 2013.

Lecturers in Maasai Mara University will not benefit from the deal since they already have a better arrangement with the university.

Following signing of the agreement, the lecturers’ union forthwith called off the strike and urged its members to resume normal duties on Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

Attentions now shifts to universities management regarding measures they would take to compensate for wasted learning time, taking into consideration that the second semester is almost coming to close.

Some universities had completely shut down citing grounded learning and inability to control students.

The university dons downed their tools on January 19, 2017 demanding recognition and settlement of the CBA by their employers, the individual universities.

The lecturers strike has been largely obscured by the yet to be resolved doctors’ strike that has almost crumbled medical services in public health facilities country wide for the last three months.

The medics are pushing for fulfillment of a similar CBA signed in 2013.

However, unlike in the lecturers’ deal the government has described the doctors’ CBA as absurd and not implementable.