UASU Issues Seven-Day Nationwide Strike Notice Over 2025–2029 CBA

NAIROBI, Kenya — Thursday, 24 September 2026 — The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has issued a seven-day nationwide strike notice, citing what it describes as the Government’s continued failure to honour commitments contained in the Return-to-Work Formula signed on 5 November 2025.

The strike is scheduled to commence at midnight on Friday, 2 October 2026, unless the outstanding issues are addressed.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, UASU Secretary-General Dr. Constantine Wasonga said the union’s decision followed the Government’s failure to provide a financial counter-proposal for the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

“The Government has failed to provide a financial counter-proposal for the 2025–2029 CBA,” the union stated, noting that while other employees in the public education sector had concluded their 2025–2029 CBAs, lecturers in public universities remained without a concluded agreement.

SRC Disclosure Highlights Funding Standoff

UASU said the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) disclosed on Monday, 21 September 2026, that neither the Ministry of Education nor the National Treasury had provided a written commitment confirming that funding for public university CBAs would be provided through the National Exchequer.

According to UASU, the SRC indicated that it could not provide the constitutional advice required to facilitate the financial counter-proposals without such a commitment.

The union consequently questioned the progress of negotiations that have been ongoing at Machakos University since last year, describing them as having yielded little progress in the absence of a clear funding commitment.

UASU Raises Concern Over Public Officer Status

The union also raised concerns over what it described as attempts to redesignate academic staff as employees whose remuneration would increasingly depend on student fees and market-based funding.

UASU maintained that academic staff in public universities are public officers and rejected what it termed attempts to undermine this status.

“Academic staff in public universities are public officers. We resist any attempt to strip lecturers of their public officer status through back-door mechanisms,” the union stated.

The union referred to the constitutional definition of public office, particularly provisions concerning offices whose remuneration is payable directly from the Consolidated Fund or from money provided by Parliament.

UASU further criticised statements by senior Government officials concerning university financing, arguing that major policy changes should be communicated through formally published policy instruments rather than social media statements.

The union also questioned reliance on social media declarations attributed to Dr. David Ndii and interpretations of provisions in the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, which, according to the statement, had not been enacted by Parliament.

“Do we still have public universities or have they changed to market-based universities? If so, when and how did they change? Has university policy been changed through tweets?” the union asked.

UASU Outlines Five Key Demands

UASU has outlined the following demands:

1. Negotiation, signing, registration and implementation of the 2025–2029 CBA.
2. An immediate commitment by the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury that the CBA will be funded through the National Exchequer.
3. An end to attempts to remove or undermine the public officer status of lecturers in public universities.
4. An explicit provision in the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026 safeguarding the remuneration of academic staff through funding from the Exchequer, in conformity with the Constitution.
5. Meaningful participation by UASU in the development of human resource instruments for public universities under the Public Service Commission.

UASU Appeals for Resolution

In its closing appeal, UASU urged the Government to address the outstanding issues affecting academic staff before the planned strike takes effect.

“The Government should not abandon the public university lecturers. A dignified, fairly remunerated academic staff is critical for the quality of public university education, the safeguarding of the future of students, and the socioeconomic development of Kenya.”

Dr. Constantine Wasonga, PhD
Secretary-General, UASU
Uniafric House, 3rd Floor, Room 301