Unions ask Parliament to guarantee Ksh 20 billion lecturers’ return-to-work deal

Three university unions have asked Parliament to make sure the government pays the Ksh 20 billion it promised to end the standoff over staff pay. The Universities' Academic Staff Union (UASU), the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) appealed the National Assembly's Committees on Education and Labour.

At stake is the full rollout of the 2025 to 2029 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) for public university workers. The money is tied to a Return to Work Formula signed on October 30, 2026. Under it, the National Treasury must release Ksh 6.7 billion a year in three instalments, covering the 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 financial years.

UASU Secretary General Dr Constantine Wasonga welcomed the October agreement but said promises on paper were not enough. "The agreed Ksh. 20B must be released in accordance with the stipulated tranches," he told the joint sitting, adding that the unresolved CBA items must also be concluded, signed, registered and implemented within the agreed timelines.

The unions went further in their written petition. They want Parliament to extract binding funding guarantees from the Ministry of Education and the Treasury. They also called for changes to the Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill (2026) so that student financing is kept apart from the cost of running institutions. In addition, they asked MPs to push the state to clear every outstanding debt it owes public universities.

University management, for its part, laid out how the talks unfolded. Inter Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) Chairperson Prof Fred Simiyu Barasa said the first CBA offer went on the table in October 2025. It was referred to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) a month later, and an improved offer followed on October 1, 2026. He stressed, however, that his joint negotiating team has no authority over direct Exchequer funding. That question, he said, belongs to Parliament.

The SRC took a cautious line. Chief Executive Officer Ali Abdullahi Surraw said the commission's advice always follows what has already been budgeted, so that no one is left with commitments the government cannot pay for.

Principal Secretary for Labour and Skills Development Shadrack Mwadime pushed back on any doubt about the deal's weight. He chaired the ministerial committee that reached it, and it included the Principal Secretary for Higher Education and a senior Treasury official. In his view, that makes the formula a firm commitment by the Government of Kenya. He noted that lecturers are back in class and calm has returned to campuses, and he said the dispute began when the 2025 to 2029 CBA was not implemented. According to him, the Ksh 20 billion figure came out of direct talks with the Treasury. Talks on the non-financial items will begin soon, he said, with a target of wrapping them up by February 28.

Labour Committee Chairperson Ken Chonga was less comfortable. He observed that unions and university management agree on what was settled, yet the Treasury did not attend the sitting. "Without Treasury backing, breach is likely and will trigger another strike," he warned.

Education Committee Chairperson Julius Melly sought to calm those fears. He told the parties the session was meant to take stock of the agreement, not to reopen it, and urged swift implementation of what had been agreed. He promised that the Ksh 6.7 billion due this financial year will be included in Supplementary Estimate No. 1 for 2026/27. The National Assembly's Implementation Committee, he added, will track delivery.