The government today moved in to end the crisis in public universities even as the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) remains on the spotlight over the standoff.
According to a member of the Inter Public Universities Consultative Council Forum (IPUCCF), the salaries commission has abandoned the forum and failed to play it’s mandate amidst demands by the unions.
“The commission keeps demanding for letters from the council while deliberately staying out of negotiating table,” said IPUCCF member who sought anonymity.
Despite our effort to have the commission on the negotiating table, he added, SRC has remained adamant to stay out of the talks.
“We have briefed the CS on matter and something needs to be done urgently for us to be able to get out of this quagmire,” he said.
The sentiment came as Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i today convened a closed-door meeting with university councils, vice chancellors and the SRC in a bid to end the strike by lecturers and non teaching staff.
The details of the morning meeting however remained scanty as both sides remained tight-lipped over the development.
University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) secretary general Constantine Wasonga has also indicated the lack of representation in the talks from SRC and the National Treasury as a clear sign of abandonment by the government.
He noted that it is only through the representation of the organs that the union can have a valid and implementable CBA which can be registered in the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
This happens as Uasu officials are mobilising their members for major demonstrations starting tomorrow to pile pressure for the signing and implementation of the 2013-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The strike which started in January has affected the entire semester in the 33 public universities and their constituent colleges as workers vow to paralyse the calendar until their demands are met.
