More than 900 lecturers of Moi University staged a protest in Eldoret on Monday, August 26, citing numerous challenges faced by the institution.
The lecturers are demanding the dissolution of the University Council, accusing it of mismanagement.
Richard Okero, the chairman of the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Moi University chapter, along with national trustee Jane Michael, led the academics in raising concerns that the university has failed to remit their loan payments to the respective banks for the past four years, despite ongoing deductions.
They also reported that their pension contributions have not been forwarded.
“Statutory deductions that have been remitted over the years haven’t been remitted,” Okero claimed.
UASU branch Secretary Ojuki Nyabuta said the strike follows a consultative meeting attended by national officials, which upheld the sanctity of the strike notice issued on Monday, August 19.
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Ojuki stated that the strike will persist until all the demands outlined in the notice are addressed, adding that it will only end after negotiating and finalizing the Return to Work Formula (RTWF).
“As an academic member of staff whose salary not only gets paid perennially late but has lately not been paid for two months now, we say no such continued mistreatment of our members!” Ojuki said.
Council Chairman Dr Humphrey Njoroge stated that they had requested a meeting with UASU to discuss and consult on matters such as salary delays and the non-implementation of the 2017-2022 CBA.
“We called the meeting to consult with the union and we have agreed on the way forward on resolving the issues they have,” Njoroge said.
However, UASU officials, led by Ojuki, stated that no progress had been made, which led to the decision to order the strike.
“We will remain on strike unless we get our salaries paid in full diagonally as per the 2017 CBA,” Ojuki said.
He confirmed that they met with the university council and management, led by VC Professor Isaac Kosgey, but there was no commitment from the management regarding when the disputed issues would be addressed.
The lecturers are also urging the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to swiftly investigate the suspected misappropriation of over Ksh1 billion from the new funding model.
By Frank Mugwe
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