Lecturers at Bomet University have threatened to take legal action against the institution's management over withheld salaries, even though they resumed duty after the suspension of the nationwide university lecturers' strike.
The lecturers, led by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Bomet University chapter chairman Dr Sangura Ramari, said they had returned to work and resumed their responsibilities in line with the return-to-work formula agreed to end the industrial action.
However, they expressed frustration over what they termed a lack of communication from the university management on payment of their outstanding salaries.
Dr Ramari said the lecturers had honoured their part of the agreement by reporting back to work, but the management, led by Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Charles Mutai, had yet to address their financial concerns.
He questioned the management's commitment to the return-to-work agreement, saying its silence had created the impression that it was unwilling to facilitate the lecturers' return to normal duty.
The chairman maintained that the return-to-work formula had been communicated to universities through their respective vice-chancellors and urged Bomet University management to implement the agreed provisions. He said it was unfair for lecturers to continue discharging their duties while their salaries remained withheld.
The union has given the university management until Friday, November 6, to resolve the salary dispute and pay the outstanding dues.
Dr Ramari warned that failure to meet the deadline would force the union to seek legal redress over what it considers non-compliance with the return-to-work formula. He said the lecturers were committed to ensuring that learning and other university activities continued uninterrupted, but insisted that management must also fulfil its obligations under the agreement.
Efforts to obtain a response from Prof Mutai were unsuccessful, as his mobile phone was switched off at the time of publication.
The dispute threatens to create fresh tension at the institution at a time when universities are expected to restore normal operations following the suspension of the industrial action.
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