Learning at South Eastern Kenya University in Kitui was brought to a standstill on Wednesday as faculty and staff joined a nationwide work boycott.
The striking workers demonstrated along the main road leading to the university’s main campus, with participation from the Wote, Mtito Andei, and Kitui town campuses in a peaceful march.
Members of the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union carried placards expressing their grievances.
Michael Wahome, chair of the Seku UASU chapter, accused the government of discrimination. “We are concerned as university staff nationwide that we are being treated unfairly. We can no longer accept this threat to our main interests,” he stated.
Wahome highlighted disparities in salary treatment, noting that while other public servants are paid from the Exchequer, university staff salaries come from student fees and capitation. “We want the national government to separate our salaries from capitation and fees. Funds should be transferred from the Exchequer to Seku, which should then disburse our salaries,” he said, asserting that the current arrangement treats university workers like ‘casuals.’
He also pointed out that university staff did not receive any salary increment last year, despite President William Ruto’s order for a 7 to 10 percent increase for all public servants. Wahome declared they would not return to work until their grievances are addressed and the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is honored, even if it takes the government time to respond.
Union secretary Mboya Kivai criticized the treatment of workers, noting that Seku staff had not received an annual salary increment for over six years, and commuter allowances had not been reviewed for years. He claimed the insurance cover provided was inadequate and that workers faced unfairness regarding hardship allowances, with loan and pension deductions from salaries not being remitted.
Thaddeus Mutisya, chair of the Seku KUSU, charged that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) was mistreating university workers. He criticized the SRC for prioritizing higher pay for politicians over equitable salaries for public servants, stating that the commission was not serving the interests of university staff. Consequently, he called for a signature collection campaign to demand the disbandment of the SRC.
