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UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said on Thursday that the strike followed the failure by university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury to honour a Return-to-Work Formula signed in November 2025.
Under the PSC circular issued on March 2, 2026 and later amended on April 28, professors are required to retire at 70 years, down from the previous age of 74.
Addressing a press conference, Uasu-UoN Secretary-General Prof George Osanjo said the university's academic workforce has already declined sharply over the last six years and warned that the latest policy could trigger another major reduction.
In a January 23, 2026 letter, the union said 16 universities had failed to release 50 per cent of the Sh7.9 billion arrears and had not sent statutory and third-party deductions or paid lecturers who had already left service.
UASU Vice Chairperson, Cyprian Ombati, said the union is pushing for harmonization of allowances under the upcoming 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to ensure that lecturers performing similar work receive equal compensation, regardless of the university they serve in.
Ombati said the lecturers’ strike, which began on September 17 following the lapse of a seven-day notice issued on September 10, is driven by three long-standing grievances that the government has ignored despite repeated engagements.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation, Ombati said that while universities continue to carry out research, inadequate financial support from the government remains a major obstacle to meaningful progress.
Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi on Friday, UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga said the decision followed extensive deliberations by the union’s top organs, the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Delegates Conference (NDC).
In a letter dated October 21 and addressed to SRC Acting Secretary and CEO Margaret Njoka, Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said the union had completely rejected the IPUCCF’s counter-offer, which was based on guidelines issued by the commission.
Outside court, lecturers maintained they would not resume classes until the outstanding amounts are fully cleared.
CS Ogamba said the government was ready for constructive dialogue with the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) and other unions but insisted that the strike must first be called off.
CS Ogamba urged UASU to communicate the development to its members and emphasized the government’s commitment to honoring all obligations agreed upon under the Return-to-Work Formula.
The Universities Academic Staff Union said negotiations with the university management have collapsed, with both sides failing to agree on a way forward despite two weeks of industrial action.
The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) has declared that teaching staff will down their tools from Wednesday if their grievances are not addressed
The union is demanding that salaries for June and July 2025 be paid according to the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement rates
