Striking lecturers and non-teaching university staff members have taken their fight on the negotiation, sigining and implementation of the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement to Parliament seeking MPs' intervention to have the government uphold the pay deal.
In a petition to the National Assembly, Uasu, Kusu and Kudheihia want the legilslators to compel the National Treasury and the Ministry of Education to table a sufficient counter-offer supported by a written, binding commitment guaranteeing exchequer funding for the new CBA.
The unions contend that negotiations hit a dead end after the government through the IPUCCF unilaterally settled on a counter-offer that's insufficient to handle expanded components contained in the new CBA.
The university staff went on strike on October 2 after the lapse of a seven-day strike notice demanding that the government finalises, signs and implements the 2025–2029 CBA.
They are also demanding the full settlement of Sh 7.9 billion in outstanding salary arrears accumulated from previous cycles, including the 2017–2021 CBA.
Beyond basic salary increments, the lecturers are demanding the harmonization of allowances, medical cover, car loans, mortgages and an end to unremitted pension deductions and new hires to bridge the current staff deficits.
"Hon members I wish to report to the House that my office is in receipt of a petition from Dr Constantine Wasonga Opiyo, PhD, national secretary general of the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu), Dr Charles Mukhwaya, national secretary general of the Kenya Universities Staff Union (Kusu) and Mr Odoyo Genga, national trustee of the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels and Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Alllied Workers (Kudheiha)," National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula told the House on Thursday.
The petition outlines three key issues the unions want the MPs to compel the relevant government institutions to address with urgency.
The say central to their grievances is the failure by the government and the Ministry of Education to respect the return to world formula signed on September 23, 2024 committing to conlcude negotiations and implementation of the CBA.
The unions say the agreement was that the 2025-2029 negotiations would conclude timely and pave way for a July 2025 implementation deadline.
They add that failure to respect the agreement triggered another industrial action that resulted in the signing of another return-to-work formula on October 5, 2025 under which the parties agreed again to conclude talks and implement the CBA within 30 days.
"The commitments made were not honoured by the Ministrybof Education and the IPUCCF," the unions told Parliament.
They said the SRC informed them on September 21, 2026 that neither the ministry nor the National Treasury had made written commitments
