UASU Issue 7-Day Strike Notice Over CBA and Exchequer Funding

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 24 – The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has issued a seven-day notice for a nationwide strike, setting the stage for major disruptions across public universities starting at midnight on Friday, October 2, 2026.​

The union accuses the government of failing to honor the Return-to-Work Formula signed on November 5, 2025, and neglecting to table a financial counter-proposal for the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).​

The strike threat follows a disclosure made on September 21, 2026, by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

The SRC revealed to university sector unions that neither the Ministry of Education nor the National Treasury had provided written funding commitments for the public universities’ CBA through the National Exchequer.

​Without a formal commitment from the Principal Secretary of the National Treasury, the SRC stated it cannot issue the constitutional advice required to progress financial counter-proposals.

UASU termed the prolonged negotiations held at Machakos University an “exercise in futility,” alleging that government representatives were aware all along that no financial backing had been authorized.

Central to the dispute is an apparent shift toward funding academic staff remuneration through student fees and market-based mechanisms rather than direct exchequer allocation.​

UASU strongly rejected this direction, characterizing it as a backdoor attempt to strip university lecturers of their constitutional status as public officers.

The union emphasized that under the Constitution, public office salaries must be payable directly from the Consolidated Fund or funds provided by Parliament.​

The union also criticized reliance on informal policy communications, citing instances where government officials directed unions to social media posts by Dr. David Ndii regarding a new university funding model, as well as implied provisions in the pending Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026.

UASU argued that major national higher education policy changes cannot be executed via social media announcements or unapproved legislation, particularly given recent directives barring public universities from collecting fees from first-year students.

​To avert the planned industrial action, UASU has outlined five core demands: CBA Implementation: Immediate negotiation, signing, registration, and implementation of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Treasury Funding Commitment: Written assurance from the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury securing CBA funding through the National Exchequer.

Protection of Public Officer Status: An explicit end to any attempt to reclassify public university lecturers outside the scope of public officers.

Legislative Safeguards: Inclusion of explicit provisions in the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, guaranteeing that academic staff remuneration is drawn from the Exchequer.

Policy Consultation: Full participation in shaping human resource instruments currently being drafted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) for public universities.​

“If the government fails to address these demands within the seven-day period, academic operations across all Kenyan public universities will come to a halt on October 2, 2026.”