This archive report was first published on 1 July 2019.
After a year of court battles, talks on a pay raise for lecturers in Kenya's public universities are set to resume on Monday.
The Ministry of Education and universities will engage the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) in negotiations, following guidelines from the commission.
According to the SRC guidelines, the Inter Public Universities Consultative Council Forum will initiate talks with lecturers who have been demanding a salary increase, a row that led to a 78-day strike last year.
Chief negotiator Prof Isaac Mbeche, University of Nairobi vice-chancellor, confirmed the meeting, saying it was long overdue.
Prof Mbeche stated, 'We will meet so that we can look at what has been budgeted for salary increase then engage lecturers.'
The National Treasury budget estimates indicate that Sh5.2 billion will be used for pay hike for 27,000 staff in public universities.
Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga has been demanding immediate talks with their employers on the 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Wasonga stated, 'Teachers have already signed their CBA. Nurses have done the same. It is only the lecturers that are remaining.'
Uasu contested the job evaluation report in court in 2019, aggrieved by the placement of lecturers and non-academic staff on the same rank.
Following the court's verdict, SRC is expected to provide the necessary guidelines for negotiations to proceed.
