The government has threatened not to pay lecturers their February salaries even as the dons vowed that they will not be intimidated to end their strike.
They declared to embark on weekly street demonstrations to push the government to negotiate, sign and implement the 2013-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) secretary general Constantine Wasonga said the over 9,000 lecturers across the 33 public universities and constituent colleges will hold protests every Wednesday until their demands are met.
“I commend all our members for their continuing commitment to the strike that is becoming protracted in the face of non-responsive government,” he said yesterday when they presented a petition to the Office of the Deputy President William Ruto.
This happened as Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i issued a directive to vice chancellors to take action against the lecturers who have absconded duties for close to two months.
Speaking at Catholic University of Eastern Africa yesterday, Matiangi stated that union officials representing the academic staff should have called off their strike to allow the negotiations to continue in good faith.
“Why would they want to make money where they have actually not earned? They have not worked for it. The crisis we have currently is on values where people want to reap where they have not sown and is very unacceptable,” said Matiang’i.
