UASU Rejects Government’s Strategy to Pay Ksh.7.9B in Phases, Insists on Full Payment Before Ending Strike
Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba had earlier said although the government was willing to pay, disagreements on the exact amount remain unresolved.
The third resolution directs all public university and college staff to continue with the industrial action until the union’s demands are fully met. Photo/courtesy
By Ruth Sang
UASU has categorically rejected the government’s proposal to disburse the Ksh.7.9 billion salary arrears owed to lecturers in installments. The union is instead maintaining that the entire amount must be paid at once before the ongoing strike, now running for 46 days, can be called off.
Addressing the press on Friday, UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga noted that lecturers have lost faith in the government’s pronouncements due to repeated cases of unfulfilled agreements from past industrial disputes. He declared that this time the lecturers will not compromise until the arrears, pending for over a decade, are fully cleared.
“The government has a habit of signing documents and later going back on its word. This time, lecturers are prepared to hold out as long as it takes until everything is paid in full,” Wesonga said. “We don’t want another strike in 2030; this matter must be resolved once and for all this year.”
The government had proposed paying the arrears in two phases, pending which lecturers would resume work immediately. However, after intensive consultations with UASU’s National Executive Committee and National Delegates Council, the union passed three concrete resolutions, stating conditions upon which it would call off the strike.
According to Wesonga, the first resolution demands the immediate and full payment of the Ksh.7.9 billion, while the second calls for the negotiation, signing, registration, and full implementation of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The third resolution directs all public university and college staff to continue with the industrial action until the union’s demands are fully met.
“Bills are not paid in phases, and lecturers do not offer knowledge in installments,” Wesonga said. “They have instructed me to make it clear that no one should even imagine that the arrears can be settled gradually. Payment must be done at once.”
This hardline stance now forces the government back to the negotiating table to find a solution acceptable to both sides. Earlier in the month, the lecturers had already rejected a Ksh.3.5 billion offer from the Ministry of Education, maintaining their position that only the full payment would bring an end to the strike.
Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba had earlier said although the government was willing to pay, disagreements on the exact amount remain unresolved. “Our learners are suffering out there not because the government refuses to pay, but because we have yet to agree on the exact amount,” Ogamba said during a visit to Nyamira County on October 24, 2025. The government and university lecturers remain at odds with no hint of a compromise, and the standoff continues to disrupt learning in all public universities, putting thousands of students in limbo as negotiations continue.
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