By Enock Okong’o
The Union Of Non-Teaching Staff at Kisii University has blamed the vice Chancellor for relieving them of their duties at the institution.
They blamed the Vice-Chancellor Professor John Akama saying that their sudden layoff was arbitrarily done. They said the majority of them are family members hence the dismissal is a major blow.
Speaking to Education News the union’s Chair Mr.Moses Nyandusi appealed to the university management to have a dialogue of reconciliation between them and more than 200 workers who were sent home.
Nyandusi was flanked by the union’s secretary Mr.Zachary Mose. The two officials accused Professor Akama of using more than shillings 40 million to pay the advocates to solve the workers’ problem instead of paying the money to them.
“Where does he get this big amount of money to pay the advocates yet he claims the university has no money for his workers?,” asked Nyandusi.
He said the laying off of those workers in the University was sabotage to the economy because the workers provided an indirect market and employment to the residents. The workers briefed that they had factored in the prevailing conditions of the Coronavirus and therefore, asked the University for dialogue.
On the other hand, Professor Akama argued that the staff was suspended for some time because the university was experiencing a dwindling trend of revenue. He said the staff were sent home from October but assured them that still, that was not a dismissal sentence for them.
“I ask our workers to bear with us because of these unforeseen financial situations as we try to adjust to fit these economic emerging issues,” he said.
