This archive report was first published on 23 May 2020.
On May 23, 2020, the Employment and Labour Relations Court issued a temporary reprieve to staff at Egerton and Kisii universities, halting a 40 per cent pay cut.
Justice Byram Ongaya granted the reprieve, citing an imminent violation of the rights of the aggrieved workers.
The universities had issued circulars on May 11 and 13, 2020, announcing the pay cuts, but the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) argued that this was a breach of their collective bargaining agreements.
Uasu lawyer Titus Koceyo stated in the petition that the circulars deviated from the existing pay structure and salaries, and that the universities had not consulted with Uasu before implementing the pay cuts.
According to Koceyo, the two universities had not consulted with Uasu, which represents its members in all 31 public universities.
Uasu Secretary-General Constance Wasonga added that there was no reason to pay the union's members reduced salaries, as the government had not stopped funding public universities and had even allocated additional funds towards remuneration in the supplementary budget 2020.
