Dons and staff at Dedan Kimathi University strike

Learning at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) in Nyeri town was disrupted after lecturers and staff joined their counterparts in the nationwide strike that has affected all the 35 public universities.

Members of Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) from the institution staged protests, paralyzing traffic along the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway for the better part of the day.

The group joined their countrywide colleagues over what they termed is prolonged delay in negotiating the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the government.

UASU Nyeri chapter vice chairman Daniel Mwai said efforts to negotiate with the government on Monday to avert the strike were fruitless as the latter remained non-committal to address their grievances.

“We tried to talk to the government over our grievances but it came empty handed at the negotiating table, with nothing to offer to university lecturers and staff. That is why we were not able to come to any agreement,” Mr Mwai said.

The dons and non-teaching staff vowed to continue with the strike until President William Ruto’s administration addressed their grievances.

“We will go on with this strike until that time when the government will iron out our grievances. We want the government to intervene and treat university staff and lecturers like any other State officers. We have waited for almost four(4) years now without having these negotiations resolved,” Mr Mwai said.

UASU and KUSU tabled their CBA on September 4, 2020, but negotiations on the deal have not been sealed with the government.

The ongoing strike notice was issued by the two unions on September 11, 2024.

The unions are lamenting about failure by the government to implement comprehensive medical cover, non-remittance to statutory deductions, delayed pay, and low pay.